On the sidelines of the BoD meeting, a specialized industry seminar was also organized by IIFM with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). More than 140 industry practitioners from around the globe representing over 40 institutions were briefed by leading speakers from the Middle East, Europe and South East Asia on the latest developments and IIFM industry unification initiatives on Islamic hedging, liquidity management and capital market instruments.
The IIFM Board Meeting was chaired by Khalid Hamad Abdul-Rahman Hamad, Chairman of IIFM and Executive Director-Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain. Hamad thanked the IIFM Board of Directors for their guidance and support which has been instrumental in making IIFM one of the leading infrastructure organizations for the development of the Islamic Financial Services Industry.
The Board reviewed the Islamic finance development initiatives spearheaded by IIFM specifically in the area of Islamic Capital & Money Market standardization and appreciated the publication of IIFM fourth documentation standard namely the Islamic Inter-Bank Unrestricted Master Investment Wakalah Agreement (UMWA) which was launched on the sidelines of the BoD meeting and seminar.
The progress on IIFM under development initiatives on Islamic Cross Currency Swap, Foreign Exchange Forwards, Collateralized (Rahn) liquidity management tool were also reviewed and consent was given on the initiation of consultation phase for assessment of Islamic Credit Support Agreement as well as Sukuk standardization.
The IIFM Audited Financials for the year 2012 were among the items discussed, reviewed and approved by the IIFM Board in the meeting.
The role of IIFM industry seminars/workshops as well as IIFM research on Sukuk to educate the market were appreciated by the Board of Directors. The recently published 3rd Edition of the IIFM Sukuk Report has been well received by the market.
“These initiatives are vital for developing sound, transparent, robust and truly global Islamic Capital & Money Market as well as build better understanding and awareness on the key components of Islamic Capital & Money Market in various Islamic jurisdictions,” Khalid Hamad, added.
Naveed Khan, Managing Director-Global Head of Islamic Banking at ABC Islamic Bank and Director on IIFM Board, was voted as the Vice-Chairman of IIFM. In his position as IIFM Vice Chairman, Naveed Khan will also serve as Chairman of the IIFM Executive Committee.
“IIFM has gained a lot of traction in the last few years due to a unique working partnership on its Board between regulators and practitioners in the Islamic Banking sphere. The good work it has put in reflects a keen desire by the Central Bank of Bahrain to reach out to the industry in all geographies and bring it under common platforms for standardization. This effort needs to be lauded by the Islamic Banking industry. God willing the Board aspires for greater integration, relevance and harmonization of these initiatives for Islamic Banking going forward,” Naveed Khan, said.
Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive of IIFM thanked the IIFM Board of Directors for their support and also extended his appreciation to Monetary Authority of Singapore for hosting the IIFM events. He stressed on the importance of industry unification through IIFM documentation and product standardization where Shariah harmonization is also achieved.
Alvi also welcomed the institutions that became members of IIFM during the last few months namely Mashreq Al Islami, Noor Islamic Bank, RAM Rating Services Berhad, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank, Iraqi Islamic Bank, Islamic International Arab Bank, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Bank Al Jazira, Euroclear and more institutions are expected to come forward and support IIFM in its unification efforts.