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)

EVENTS - 9th IFSB Summit - 15-17 May 2012 Istanbul - Official Website open

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BANKING - Is Turkey’s Central Bank Moving? Document Suggests It Could Be

blogs.wsj.com - ISTANBUL — It’s something of an open secret in Turkey that the government has been seriously considering moving the central bank from Ankara to Istanbul, but the small print of a government document this week suggests the move could come sooner than previously thought.
The transfer of operations would be part of a broader project to boost the profile of Istanbul, already the country’s commercial capital, as an international financial center. (source)

ARTICLES - SPECIAL COMMENT: Turkish exchange plans ties with UAE and Egyptian markets

alifarabia.com - By Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Head of Islamic Finance, Thomson Reuters
Turkey has been building capital market bridges to GCC and South East Asia, and chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Hussain Erkan, has been a leading architect in establishing dialogue, hosting events, and facilitating cooperation and coordination with his counterparts for both Islamic and conventional finance. In this interview, Erkan shares his thoughts on the challenges and progress of Islamic finance in Turkey, among various other issues. He is hopeful that the improvements made should be able to attract investors from the GCC. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Why German blushes could have been saved by a vibrant sukuk market - Turkey ready to move on

Sovereign Germany might be disappointed that its recent Eurobond offering was not fully subscribed. Perhaps in hindsight, had it instead opted to issue a debut Eurosukuk for the same amount, the story might well have been different.

Sukuk issuers, whether conventional entities such as HSBC Middle East or Goldman Sachs (both of which tapped the sukuk market in 2011, or Islamic banks, agree that market conditions in the sukuk space is more favorable than in the conventional space. And this confidence and appetite for Sukuk is backed by rising demand from big institutional investors in the Middle East and Asia. (source)

BANKING - Turkey capitalizes on participation banking ties

Perhaps it is not surprising that the 9th Annual Summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) will be hosted by the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) on May 16-17, 2012 in Istanbul. At the meeting of the central banks & monetary authorities of the OIC member countries which was organized by the Ankara-based SESTRIC, the statistical and research organization of the OIC, and hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, in Kuala Lumpur last week, Erdem Basçı, governor of the CBT, was indeed a busy man. (source)

BANKING - Turkey's Central Bank board welcomes newcomers

Turkey’s Central Bank added a credit expert and Islamic economist to its board in a meeting Nov. 3.

Sabri Orman and Ahmet Faruk Aysan filled two empty seats on the board, the Central Bank said in a statement yesterday. (source)

RATINGS - Corporate Governance and Credit Rating Score Bank Asya

SAHA Kurumsal Yonetim ve Kredi Derecelendirme Hizmetleri A.S. has completed its Corporate Governance rating report for Bank Asya in accordance with the Turkish Capital Markets Board's communiqué of "capital market rating operations and corporate governance principles". Bank Asya’s Corporate Governance rating score previously has been identified as 81,69 on July 1st, 2010 and revised to 82,56 as of July 1st, 2011. The Bank's Corporate Governance rating score distribution is detailed at below into segments:

SAHA Kurumsal Yonetim ve Kredi Derecelendirme Hizmetleri A.S.'s detailed report will be published on Bank Asya's website www.bankasya.com.tr. (source)

BANKING - Central Bank policies hurting Islamic lenders

Ufuk Uyan

Ufuk Uyan, general manager of Kuveyt Turk has told The Islamic Globe: “I believe non-interest banking will enter a new period of healthy growth worldwide, shrugging off the indirect effects of the global crisis.”

Uyan argued that global Islamic banking had sidestepped the worst of the financial crisis as it does not deal with complex derivative products or packaging and reselling of debt. (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)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkish Parliament passes tax neutrality law for Sukuk Al-Ijara

Almost unnoticed, the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara passed the Finance Bill 2011 in February 2011 which includes tax neutrality measures for Sukuk Al-Ijara (leasing certificates) thus paving the way for a spate of corporate Sukuk issuances in the country.

Murat Haholu, head of the Surveillance Group, Corporate Finance Department, Capital Markets Board of Turkey, confirmed that the tax neutrality measures for the Sukuk Al-Ijara were published in the Official Gazette at the end of February 2011, which he stressed is an important development in the participation banking sector in the country. (source)

EVENTS- IFSB - Seminar on Managing Liquidity in the Islamic Financial Services Industry (April 6, 2011)

The Central Bank of Turkey is hosting this Seminar.

Mark your agenda !

Event Detail
Category	:	Awareness Programme
Name	:	[EVE00153] Seminar on Managing Liquidity in the Islamic Financial Services Industry
Description	:	The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey is hosting this Seminar. For more information on the Seminar, please email to Ms. Yazmin Aziz Email: yazmin@ifsb.org.
Start Date	:	06/04/2011	End Date	:	07/04/2011
Venue Name	:	Grand Ballroom, Conrad Istanbul Hotel
City	:	Istanbul
Country	:	TURKEY

Programme - Event Session(s)
Date	Time	Topics
Day 1 06/04/2011	09:00 - 09:30	Registration
	09:30 - 10:00	Opening and Keynote Session
	10:00 - 11:00	Session 1 - Liquidity Management in the Islamic Financial Services Industry: Risks, Legal and Regulatory Issues The session will discuss the liquidity management challenges in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI) due to inadequate Sharī`ah-compliant instruments and the risks to which institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS) are exposed.
	11:00 - 11:30	Coffee and Networking Break
	11:30 - 12:30	Session 2 : Infrastructures for Managing Liquidity and Liquidity Risks The session will discuss the necessary building blocks that should be in place to support IIFS in managing their liquidity, including the infrastructure components that are required to facilitate measuring and managing liquidity risks and the role of supervisory bodies in this process.
	12:30 - 14:00	Lunch
	14:00 - 15:00	Session 3 : Regulatory Approaches to Liquidity Management in the Islamic Financial Services Industry in Selected Countries The session will highlight treasury management practices of IIFS in selected jurisdictions, and the challenges to develop appropriate Sharī`ah-compliant instruments.
	15:00 - 16:00	Session 4 : Panel Discussion : Future Development of a Liquidity Management Framework for the Islamic Financial Services Industry The session aims to discuss the issues that have to be considered to develop a robust liquidity management framework and how to overcome some of the existing challenges. It will also cover the role that stakeholders in the IFSI are expected to play.
	16:00 - 16:30	Coffee and Networking Break
	19:30 - 22:00	Gala Dinner (Hosted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey) Venue : Tavaci Recep Usta Restaurant, Etiler
Day 2 07/04/2011	09:30 - 10:00	Coffee and Networking Break
	10:00 - 10:30	Keynote Address
	10:30 - 12:00	Session 5 : Panel Discussion : Key Components for Structuring International Liquidity Instruments: Shari`ah, Legal and Rating
	12:00 - 14:00	Lunch

BANKING - Central bank to pay interest on Treasury deposits

Original post : http://islamicfinanceturkey.blogspot.com/2010/09/finance-bankers-take-hit-from-turkish.html

A motion to end the treasurer’s role of the Central Bank of Turkey has been warmly welcomed by economists.

The most important item in a debt restructuring package prepared by the government is seen as the change in the treasurer role of the central bank. Due to this change, the Finance Ministry can now earn interest on its fund of approximately TL 20 billion that is deposited in the central bank. Since the bank has accumulated a significant amount of funds, the interest payments will not overburden the Central Bank of Turkey.

FINANCE - Bankers take hit from Turkish Central Bank

Turkey’s Central Bank increased Thursday the level of reserves banks must deposit at the central financial institution as it announced it would cease paying interest on Turkish Lira reserves.

“The decision means the bank has completely reversed the 2 percentage-point cut it made in the foreign currency reserve requirement in December 2008,” Bloomberg reported about the move, which is likely to soak up the liquidity provided to markets during the global financial crisis.