Azerbaijan, Baku, May 9 / Trend A.Taghiyeva /
Libya's second major bank Gumhouria Bank, decided to fully move over to the Islamic banking system, Al Jazeera TV channel reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, the bank plans to completely switch to the Islamic banking system within two years, as well as transfer all its branches to the new system.
As the TV channel reported, Libya's goal is to turn the country into the centre of Islamic banking for African countries, particularly in the Muslim and Arab ones.
In 2011, the volume of assets of the Gumhouria Bank amounted to $4.1 billion. The bank's incomes in 2011 totalled $270 million. Gumhouria Bank has 146 branches across the country.
Islamic banking is works on a system whereby it is consistent with the religious rules of Islam. Religious Islamic rules prohibit fixed or floating payments, or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money.
Today, more than 150 Islamic banks exist in the Muslim world.