Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) plans to expand its Islamic finance portfolio in the country in 2015, Director of the IBA Islamic Banking Department Behnam Gurbanzade said in an interview with Azernews newspaper Jan. 30.
Gurbanzade said that as of early 2014, the assets of IBA Islamic Banking assets were $220 million.
"We planned to double this amount by the end of the year," he said. "But they increased to $526 million. Moreover, we are still confident in the development of Azerbaijan as an Islamic banking center in the region."
"The Islamic finance development in the country gives an advantage to establishing the Islamic finance development center in the CIS countries, which would be based in Baku," he said.
"Thus, we plan to increase the Islamic finance volume in Azerbaijan in 2015," he said.
Together with consultants we are working on the Islamic banking bill, which will expand the use of this type of activity in the country.
"The primary documents, including the issues of financing and implementing the operating procedures and introducing the products and services will be reviewed," he said.
IBA announced about launching the "Islamic window" in September 2012, created as part of the Islamic banking introduction project in Azerbaijan. Later, the Islamic banking department was established in the bank upon the IBA decision. IBA's "Islamic window" began rendering the services to customers in April 2014. The range of services offered by the bank include such products of Islamic banking as Ijara - analogue of the traditional leasing, Vakala deposit - analogue of the traditional deposit, Islamic banking cards, opening Gard Hassan accounts.
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