EVENTS - IFSB SUMMIT - Industry Leaders Discuss the Impact of Global Regulatory Reforms on the Islamic Financial Services Industry

www.ifsb.org -  Industry Leaders Discuss the Impact of Global Regulatory Reforms on the Islamic Financial Services Industry  Istanbul, 17 May 2012 - There is a need to find the remedy to the challenges facing the global financial services industry. Islamic finance provides a solution but legal and regulatory challenges facing the industry need to be addressed.

This was the consensus of the distinguished speakers at the first day of the 9^th IFSB Summit themed as “Global Financial Reforms: The Changing Regulatory Model and Islamic Finance” that is hosted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. (source)

BANKING - Golden Corner: Kuwait Turk kiosk that gold

www.finansglobal.com - Kuwait, Turkey 'reputation, "24 K of a product described as" new service "Golden Corner", was introduced at a press conference held in Sea? Wedding hall.
Turkish gold KoseKuveyt Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank, Turkey, which is the first product of the "Golden Corner" of the launch with Deputy Director General held a press conference attended by Irfan Yilmaz.
Wedding hall meeting organized and Sea, and the operation of the kiosk were told that gold. In addition, the meeting, Kuwait, Turkey 'reputation Gold Banking products and services for 2012 targets announced in the coming period.
Assistant General Manager of Kuwait Turkish Irfan Yilmaz, "450 Billion want to give the size of the economy at least partly a source of inert".  (source)

EVENTS - IFSB Summit - Islamic Financial Services Industry Helpıng to Enhance the Resilience and Stability of the Global Financial System

www.ifsb.org -Islamic Financial Services Industry Helpıng to Enhance the Resilience and Stability of the Global Financial System

Istanbul, 16 May 2012 – The intrinsic strengths of Islamic financial services industry, if fully explored, could help build a robust, resilient and just financial system that not only supports growth and economic activity but also ascertains a more inclusive financial system. This was among the discussions made by the distinguished speakers at the Opening and Keynote Session of the 9^th IFSB Summit that commenced in the Istanbul, Turkey today. The 2-day IFSB Summit themed as “Global Financial Reforms: The Changing Regulatory Model and Islamic Finance” is being hosted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and is being attended by more than 200 delegates across the globe comprising of officials and representatives from international institutions, supervisory bodies, market players, academia, rating agencies and other stakeholders of Islamic financial services industry. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkey’s Tax Change Paves Way for Sukuk Sales: Islamic Finance

Islamic bond sales from Turkey are picking up pace after the government changed its tax law to apply the same rates to sukuk as non-Islamic debt.

Two banks, Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB) and Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), plan to sell as much as $500 million in Shariah-compliant debt after Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS, a unit of Kuwait Finance House (KFIN) KSC, offered $350 million of five- year sukuk Oct. 20. (source)

BANKING - Turkey: Islamic Banking Offering Different Model

Earlier this year, the Istanbul Stock Exchange launched an index of Sharia compliant banks and companies. Since then, the emergence of “Islamic banking” — also known as “participation banking” — has garnered considerable media attention.

It has been widely reported that these banks do not charge interest, or “riba”, because it is forbidden according to Islamic law. The actual mechanisms by which the banks operate, however, and the ways in which they differentiate themselves from the mainstream financial sector, remain poorly understood. (source)

EVENTS - IFSB Istanbul April 6, 2011 - In search for a global standard in Islamic banking

Islamic banking is growing rapidly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but it desperately needs a global set of standards that every country and institution accepts. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News in Istanbul, an expert says the Turkish Central Bank might ‘take the lead’ in this effort. ‘Risk has no religion,’ says Khalid Ferdaus Howladar of Moody’s, adding that he likes the Turkish term ‘participation bank’.

 

Khalid Ferdaus Howladar of Moody's (third from L) is seen on stage with other officials including Turkish Central Bank Gov. Durmuş Yılmaz (third from R) in Istanbul during the 'Seminar on Managing Liquidity In The Islamic Financial Services Industry' held April 6, 2011. AA photo

Turkey may not be ready to take a prominent place in the world of Islamic finance due to the ongoing political tension on religion’s role in the society, but an expert says Islamic finance needs input from the nation on how to proceed.

Noting the often-contradictory interpretations of the principles of Islamic banking, Khalid Ferdaus Howladar, the vice president and senior credit officer of Moody’s in the Middle East, suggested that the Turkish Central Bank might “take the lead” in establishing a global standard that would help Islamic banking become more transparent. (full story)

FINANCE - Turkish Gold Trumps Banks as Erdogan Urges Savers to Forget 130% Inflation

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is struggling to persuade fellow Turks that their banks are as good as gold.

For every Turk who saved in a deposit account last year, three opted for gold or cash, a December MasterIndex survey showed. Those who deposit their lira at banks refuse to do so for more than a few months, according to the survey commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide.  (full story)

FINANCE - Middle Eastern lenders discuss union

'We hope that the outcome of this conference will leave concrete milestones and a timeline for us to integrate the financial systems,' says Faris Sharaf, the Jordanian Central Bank governor.

Turkish Central Bank Gov. Durmuş Yılmaz called on Turkish lenders to invest in the Middle East to grow their businesses, while making a significant contribution to the banking systems of the region’s countries in the meantime.

Speaking on the first day of the “ShamGen Banking” meeting, an event hosted by Turkey’s Central Bank to discuss opportunities among Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, Yılmaz said Turkey paved the way for cooperation for the entire region with its policy of “zero problems with neighbors.” (full story)

BANKING - Islamic bank takes first step in selling gold from ATMs (Kuveyt Turk)

Kuveyt Türk customers will be able to buy 1-gram and 2.5-gram gold pieces from ATMs. AA photo

Turkish lender Kuveyt Türk has started selling “gold-on-the-go” from automatic teller machines, or ATMs, fulfilling a promise it made in January.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, İrfan Yılmaz, the deputy general manager of the lender, noted that Turkey ranks among the top gold importers. (full story)

BANKING - ALBARAKA TURK - Turkish participation bank executive warns on Central Bank move

'The banking sector grew by 20 percent in 2010 while the credit expansion was around 35 percent,' says Albaraka Türk General Manager Fahrettin Yahşi.. Hürriyet photo

The Turkish banking sector will shrink this year if the Central Bank increases the required reserve ratio for banks in a bid to control the already-high credit expansion, said Fahrettin Yahşi, general manager of the Albaraka Türk Participation Bank, a Turkish lender operating on Islamic banking terms.

The credit expansion has one negative and one positive main effect, Yahşi said: contribution to growth and the risk of boosting the current account deficit. He spoke with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic review after a meeting to launch the lender’s cooperation with Istanbul’s Esenler district municipality for a banking card for residents. (source)

BANKING - Islamic bank offers gold-on-the-go from ATMs

'We want to bring Turkey's existing gold to the bank,' Kuveyt Türk's İrfan Yılmaz says. AA photo

BANKING - Kuveryt Turk Participation bank to support Marmara enterprises

Participation bank Kuveyt Türk and the East Marmara Development Agency, or Marka, have signed a collaboration protocol as part of an initiative to enhance the competitive power of small and medium enterprises in the Marmara province of İzmit, a press release said.

The protocol, signed Dec. 2, is the first collaboration agreement between the participation bank and a development agency. Participation banks adhere to Islamic rules for financing and banking services. Instead of interest-based loans, they offer customers a share in the overall profit of a finance deal.

FINANCE - EVENTS - Turkish state minister visited the 13th MUSIAD International Fair

Businessmen from Islamic countries gathered and exchanged views on trade and investments

Turkish state minister visited the 13th MUSIAD International Fair in Istanbul on Friday.

State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz told AA correspondent that the fair organized by Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) during the meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was a positive and favorable event.

GENERAL - Turkish economy undergoes resilient growth

LONDON: The Turkish economy should grow at 5 percent in 2010 and the country’s public debt to GDP is expected to stabilize at 47 percent according to Durmus Yilmaz, the governor of the Central Bank of Turkey. 

“Officially the GDP growth forecast is 3.5 percent, but it will probably be higher than that, nearer to 5 percent,” he explained in a recent interview with Arab News.