www.bloomberg.com - Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), an Istanbul-based Islamic bank, expects its gold deposit accounts to double by the end of this year, Haberturk newspaper reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Celik.
The bank, also known as Bank Asya, currently has 1 ton of gold stored in such accounts and plans to pay a profit-share to attract more customers, Celik said, according to Haberturk. Profit share is a mechanism used by Islamic lenders that corresponds to interest payments. (source)
Bank Asya’s accounts allow customers who keep gold at home to store it on deposit, and the bank charges a 1 percent commission that is much lower than typically levied by jewellers, Haberturk quoted Celik as saying.
Bank Asya is looking forward to proposed legislation that will allow Turkey’s government to sell sukuk, or Islamic bonds, the newspaper quoted Celik as saying. That would create opportunities for the bank to sell its own sukuk domestically and abroad, Celik said.
Source: - Aprihttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-16/bank-asya-expects-to-double-gold-deposits-haberturk-reports.htmll 16, 2012
