Posts Tagged ‘Dubai Islamic Bank’
Gulfnews: Dubai Islamic Bank launches new business banking solution
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Islamic Bank recently rolled out its new business banking account known as Al Islami Banking Accounts. The product comes in 3 different packages, Al Islami Business Account, Al Islami Business Account Plus and Al Islami Business Account Premium, each designed to suit the requirements of different types of business customers and different growth plans. The account is now available at all the Bank’s branches which features may be seen here. Gulf News reported.
Staff Report
Published: November 08, 2008, 22:50
Dubai: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched Al Islami Business Accounts, a new product in its business banking portfolio that offers banking convenience and competitive advantages to business customers.
Former head of Dubai Islamic Bank detained
Points of Essence:
- Dubai has intensified its crackdown on the financial irregularities with the latest arrest of a former CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank along with the executives of other state-link corporations. Last August, the global banking fraternity was shocked with a high profile probe of Tamweel’s former CEO for alleged corruptions.
The former chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank has been detained as part of a probe into alleged financial irregularities at the bank’s real estate subsidiary, Deyaar Dev.
Dubai Bank plans $5bn Islamic bond programme
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Bank plans to raise $500 million in Islamic bonds this year as part of a $5 billion notes programme to finance growth. Swiss investment bank, UBS and Standard Chartered have been appointed as lead arrangers. The bonds would be listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
DUBAI INC.: Dubai Bank is a unit of Dubai Banking Group which is owned by Dubai Holding which is owned by Dubai's Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (pictured). (Getty Images)
Dubai Bank plans to sell about $500 million in Islamic bonds this year as part of a $5 billion notes programme to finance growth as it looks to become a global Islamic lender by 2013.
The unlisted bank, a unit of Dubai Banking Group (DBG), could sell its first tranche in the next “couple of months”, depending on market conditions, Chief Executive Officer Salaam Al-Shaksy told newswire Reuters on Wednesday.
The Islamic lender, which appointed Swiss investment bank UBS and Standard Chartered as lead arrangers, had received a good response from potential investors for the sukuk sale, Al-Shaksy said.
“We are talking about an Islamic bank sukuk, which has not been issued for quite some time,” Shaksy said when asked whether he was concerned about difficulties in the regional debt markets.
Abdulla Al Hamli appointed Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Islamic Bank
Abdulla Al Hamli - CEO
Points of Essence:
- Abdulla Al Hamli is appointed Dubai Islamic Bank’s new Chief Executive Officer. He previously served as Chief of Operations and Information Technology at DIB.
- The new CEO is expected to make a significant contribution to consolidating DIB’s leadership position in the regional and international Islamic banking sector.
21 September 2008
• Appointment in line with DIB’s continued leadership of regional and international Islamic banking sector
• New CEO to focus on sustained organic growth and best practice corporate governance
Dubai – Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today the appointment of Abdulla Al Hamli as the bank’s new Chief Executive Officer. Al Hamli, who previously served as Chief of Operations and Information Technology at DIB has worked at the bank for nine years, following 16 years in progressively senior positions at leading public and private-sector organisations in Dubai, including more than a decade and a half as Director of Information Systems at the Dubai Ports Authority and Jebel Ali Free Zone. The holder of a BSc in Economics and Maths from Al Ain University who has completed various international professional development programmes, Al Hamli currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Deyaar Development.
DIB to buy controlling stake in Jordan’s IDB
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) marked its first overseas acquisition by taking over the Industrial Development Bank of Jordan.
- The new entity will be converted into a Sharia-compliant institution. Its name will be changed to “Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank” as it would sell Islamic products to the Jordanian market.
By Andrew Foxwell
- Last Updated: September 02. 2008 10:23PM UAE / GMT
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), in association with two finance houses, will buy a controlling stake in a small Jordanian bank, marking one of DIB’s first overseas acquisitions and a further spread of its Sharia banking products throughout the Middle East.
The takeover plan calls for Industrial Development Bank (IDB) – which is listed on the Amman Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of 106.2 million Jordanian dinars (Dh554m) – to be converted into a Sharia-compliant institution, change its name to “Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank” and sell Islamic products to the Jordanian market.
DIB announces purchase of anti-money laundering system
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) had purchased an integrated anti-money laundering and compliance solution from Norkom Technologies for application across its operations in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Norkom Technologies is a leading provider of financial crime and compliance solutions for the global financial services industry.
- The software will help DIB to monitor and analyse transactions and customer interactions across its entire customer base in order to identify and investigate suspicious and criminal behaviour.
- DIB is a member of the Islamic Financial Services Board.
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) today announced the purchase of an integrated anti-money laundering and compliance solution from Norkom Technologies, a leading provider of financial crime and compliance solutions for the global financial services industry.
DIB will implement Norkom’s sophisticated suite of solutions across its operations in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
Pakistan plans to issue first local currency Islamic bond next month
Points of Essence:
- Pakistan will issue rupee-dominated Islamic bond for its domestic market consumption in September.
- The issuance will be handled by Standard Chartered Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank which would be less than Rs 20 billion than what the market had expected.
- The Islamic bond will further stimulate the growth of the Islamic finance industry which shared 3.2% of the total banking system in Pakistan and only accounted for Rs 135 billion of assets.
Published: August 15, 2008, 23:58
Kuala Lumpur: Pakistan will issue its first local currency Sharia-compliant bond in September, a government official said yesterday, as the Muslim nation seeks to build its fledging Islamic finance industry.
Ashfaque Hassan Khan, special secretary at the Finance Ministry, said the issue size had not been determined although it would be “substantially less” than the Rs20 billion ($269.5 million) some bankers had earlier expected.
“We have already completed all the paperwork and we hope to be in the market sometime in Sep-tember,” Khan told Reuters by telephone. “This is the first time we will be going to the market with a rupee-denominated local sukuk.”
DIB investment banking arm arranges more than AED 20 billion in sukuk and syndication transactions in first half of 2008
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Islamic Bank has arranged in excess of AED 20 billion of sukuk and syndication transactions
- DIB acted as lead manager, arranger and book runner on over 90 per cent of all sukuk transactions as well as over 60 per cent of Islamic syndication transactions
- DIB had pioneered various sukuk in the region such as sukuk with equity warrants, convertible sukuk, musharaka sukuk, sukuk under the EMTN program and dirham-denominated sukuk.
Dubai, June 24, 2008: Dubai Islamic Bank’s (DIB) wholly-owned investment banking arm, Millennium Capital Limited, announced today that it has arranged in excess of AED 20 billion of sukuk and syndication transactions since the beginning of this year. DIB has risen to second place in the GCC Islamic Bonds League Tables, up from sixth place in 2007, according to the Bloomberg Underwriter Rankings published in June 2008.
The largest GCC-based banks such as DIB, the world’s first Islamic bank, have seen increasing competition from the leading global investment banking firms for a share in this fast-growing Sharia-compliant market space. Despite the stiff competition, DIB has successfully managed to further strengthen its leadership position in this sector.
Khaled Kamda, Group Managing Director & CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank, said: “UAE issuers such as DIB, continue to receive a strong response from the markets. Since the successful AED 7.5 billion closure of the first rated sukuk for the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai in November 2007, DIB has continued to play the lead role in channeling the vast liquidity of the region into the sukuk and syndication market. This channeling has improved asset allocation and provided scale and depth to the domestic capital markets in a very meaningful way.”
Since the beginning of the year, within the UAE, DIB has acted as lead manager, arranger and book runner on over 90 per cent of all sukuk transactions within the market, as well as over 60 per cent of Islamic syndication transactions.
“In addition, DIB is currently executing several significant transactions and expects to successfully conclude these transactions shortly,” said Saad Zaman, Deputy CEO of Millennium Capital Limited. “The success of DIB’s investment banking business is predicated on strong origination, structuring and a distribution track record that has served it well in deepening its already close customer relationships.”
DIB has had many firsts in the sukuk industry, such as the first sukuk with equity warrants, the first convertible sukuk, the first musharaka sukuk, the first sukuk under the EMTN program and the first dirham-denominated sukuk.
The overall suite of investment banking products continues to see strong demand from DIB’s client base, according to Zaman. Increases in outbound cross-border activity have provided DIB with significant business opportunities, focusing in areas such as infrastructure, financial services and real estate. Building on its asset management platform and the success of its asset-backed funds, DIB plans to continue rolling out new funds. The Sharia-compliant funds are based in several regions and cover several asset classes, including aviation, shipping and real estate.
Private equity is another area where DIB is keen to expand and create new successes within its investment banking platform. Recently, DIB and Millennium Capital partnered with Global Investment House of Kuwait to launch a US$ 500 million Islamic buyout fund.
Zaman concluded: “This is the first of an expected series of future private equity funds that will target different asset types and regions to provide investors with a wide range of private equity investment options.”
Dubai bank probe sparks calls for compliance
Points of Essence:
- Dubai Islamic Bank and its affiliate Deyaar are under probe for embezzlement
- This led to calls for better compliance and transparency in banks in the region
Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:40am EDT
By Jason Benham
DUBAI, June 23 (Reuters) – A police investigation into irregularities at Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU and a probe into the bank’s affiliate Deyaar DEYR.DU, have led to calls for better compliance and transparency in banks in the region.
Police in Dubai, a regional trade hub and financial centre, have detained seven people, two of whom were former employees of Dubai Islamic Bank, as part of an embezzlement investigation, according to police and public prosecution records.
The high-profile case has triggered an avalanche of local media coverage in the booming oil-exporting states of the Gulf and threatens to mar the image of the nascent Islamic finance sector, which follows the dictates of Sharia law.
“All these latest issues suggest that there should potentially be better compliance. We need better communication and visibility when these situations arise,” Raj Madha, director of equity research at Cairo-based EFG-Hermes, told Reuters.
Islamic finance has grown rapidly in the past few years due to high demand for investments and financial services that comply with Islamic law — which includes a ban on the receipt of interest.
“There should be better supervision over these things,” said Mohammed Yasin, managing director at Shuaa Securities.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have responded with several high-profile detentions that have captured the attention of the local media.
The two detainees who used to work for Dubai Islamic Bank are Rifat Usmani, former vice-president, and Omair Mooraj, managing director and head of Islamic banking in the region at JP Morgan Chase, formerly the managing director at a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic.
Lawyers for both Usmani and Mooraj denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients when contacted by Reuters.
ISLAMIC BANKS
Dubai has become the defacto financial centre for the Gulf and strives to build a reputation for clear regulations, transparency and low taxes.
“There is a new drive in the UAE which I have seen over the last three to four years, that no one is above the law,” said Essam Al Tamimi, founder and senior partner of Al Tamimi & Company, one of the largest law firms in the Middle East.
“The authorities have the power to investigate whoever breaks the law, whether they be local, British, whoever they are.”
DIB stock has fallen more than 13 percent in the past three months compared to an average 9 percent increase by rival banks in the UAE, according to Reuters data.
The clouds gathering over the Gulf’s third-largest Islamic-compliant bank risks affecting the Islamic finance sector on the whole.
Islamic finance is enjoying rapid growth due to Muslim interest and because some non-Muslim investors view it as ethical investing because of its ban on companies involved in pornography, for example, or alcohol.
“It may have some negative spillover into the Islamic banking brand in general,” Madha said, adding it is “far from clear what is going on”.
“If this is a case of usury, then customers might well ask what the difference is between Islamic and conventional banks,” he said.
Other investors say the impact could spread beyond the Islamic sector and into the quickly growing financial sector in the Gulf overall.
“Being Islamic or non-Islamic has nothing to do with embezzlement. What really matters is that it is a big financial institution which has a lot of presence in Dubai,” said Yasin.
Dubai Islamic assured its shareholders in a statement that the investigation would have no impact on the financial position of the bank. (Editing by Thomas Atkins)
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSL2328169720080623?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
