UK Islamic Finance’s Comparative Advantage — Developing Financial Architecture to Ensure Continued Competitiveness

IFN OnAir

How do we collectively ensure the continued development of UK financial architecture as a platform for the creation and support of new Islamic financial services and Halal economy-focused businesses? How does the UK build on its competitiveness as a global Islamic finance hub and a center for regulatory and legislative developments for Islamic fintech? How can Islamic finance in the UK help develop public/private sector funding for SMEs, start-ups and early-stage businesses? How do we encourage the expansion of core Islamic retail financial services, including extending savings options, pension and Takaful solutions, and student financing schemes? Would UK Islamic finance benefit from the development of specific alternative finance legislation, and if so, what form would this take? Would the sector benefit from a modified regulatory model with less capital constraints? Finally, how do we measure and evaluate tangible recent progress achieved by the UK Islamic financial services sector? We seek the views of an expert panel.

Moderator:
Vineeta Tan, Managing Editor and Director, Islamic Finance news

Panelists:
Arshadur Rahman, Senior Manager, Bank of England
Dr Mohamed Damak, Senior Director, Global Head of Islamic Finance, S&P Global Ratings
Sultan Choudhury, Advisory Board Member, Islamic Finance Council UK
Dr Usman Chaudry, Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director, Gatehouse Bank
Zakky Bantan, Head of Funding, IsDB