Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 19 /Trend A.Akhundov /
International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) is going to develop Islamic insurance (takaful) and Islamic leasing (ijara).
"Islamic insurance does not contradict the legislation of Azerbaijan, today creation of funds to cover risks is possible. It is not against the law if an insurance company will work within any requirements.
"These services will be provided by the International Insurance Company (IIC), together with our Department," the head of the Islamic Banking Department of IBA Behnam Gurbanzade said.
According to him, by the end of the year the bank will complete the market analysis and the business project for work in this direction. IBA is a 100 percent founder of IIC and owner of 47.7 percent of the shares in the capital of the Joint Leasing company.
"Next year we will launch the insurance process. There is certainly demand for this type of insurance, due to high demand for the purchase of cars, real estate. Insurance of risks is necessary in this case. Thus, sale of insurance services will be accompanied by sale of Islamic banking products," Gurbanzade said.
According to him, regarding Islamic leasing the bank is considering cooperation with Joint Leasing. "The cooperation will be on refinancing current projects, and further co-financing by the bank and leasing company," Gurbanzade said.
IBA was the first in the banking market to start providing Islamic banking services in 2003. The bank carried out activities in this field through attracted resources from the IDB.
The consortium of Salans, KPMG, Pinsent Masons and Dar al Shariah companies assisted IBA in the creation of specialized structures for the provision of Islamic banking products and services.
The IBA was founded in January 1992 and is the largest bank in the country. Its main shareholder is the Azerbaijani government, which owns 50.2 per cent of the shares, while 49.8 per cent is owned by private physical and legal bodies.