WORLD - OPINION - Strong Outlook for Turkish Islamic Banks

IRAN DAILY - International credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) asserted in a report published last week that Turkey’s participation (Islamic) banks could continue their recent strong growth if they can cultivate stronger ties with their international owners and create a sustainable brand image.

Turkey’s Islamic finance market is as old as the one in Malaysia and others in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) countries, Arab News wrote. (source)

BANKING - Market share of participation banks on the rise in Turkey

Bank Asya General Manager Abdullah Çelik - Al Baraka General Manager Fahrettin Yahşi - Kuveyt Türk General Manager Ufuk Uyan

Participation banks, which once were snubbed and had doubts cast over them when they first made an appearance in the Turkish financial system, have grown 10 times on average in the last eight years, according to data provided to the Aksiyon weekly by senior executives in the sector.

According to a report prepared by the late Dr. Adnan Büyükdeniz, who was the general manager of Albaraka Türk, one of the first participation banks to launch operations in Turkey, in 1985, the development of money and capital markets in developing countries is impeded by a number of factors including an underdevelopment of financial institutions and a lack of diversity of institutions and instruments. This problem is even more acute in countries where a segment of society prefers not to engage in the conventional interest-based banking system for various reasons. As a result, there is a leakage of savings from the financial system, and savings funds are often placed in unproductive areas. (full story)