New IFSB chief faces challenging task

Points of Essence

• The change of leadership at the Islamic Financial Services Board has set yet another challenge for the new chief to spearhead a greater inclusion of the global financial community in the sphere of Islamic finance
• While his predecessor has successfully put in place the institutional workings of the IFSB, the new chief will need to command a greater authority and respect to bring Islamic finance in parallel with the global financial system.     
  

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: May 8, 2011 19:39 Updated: May 8, 2011 19:39

Jaseem Ahmed officially took over at the beginning of this month as the new secretary general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting organization for the global Islamic financial industry. He succeeds a prominent predecessor, Professor Rifaat Abdel Karim, who has been at the helm of the board for the last 8 years since it started operations in March 2003.

End of journey for Rifaat at the IFSB

Points of Essence

• There has been a shift of stewardship at the Islamic Financial Services Board since April this year.
• An interview with the IFSB’s former Secretary General, Prof. Rifaat Abdel Karim, will shed some lights into the pioneering efforts behind the establishment of the IFSB and the challenges it faced to emerge a global Islamic financial authority.      

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: May 8, 2011 19:39 Updated: May 8, 2011 19:39

Professor Rifaat Abdel Karim is the inaugural secretary general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the multilateral prudential and supervisory standard setting organization for the global Islamic financial services industry. He was appointed in November 2002 and the board officially started operations in March 2003. During his watch, the organization increased from its nine founding members to 195 to date, including 53 regulatory authorities and central banks from 41 jurisdictions. During that time the IFSB has also published 14 standards relating to various products governance issues. Rifaat resigned last year and his tenure came to an end in April 2011, making way for a new secretary general. In the first installment of a two-part in-depth and unique interview, Rifaat discusses with Arab News the circumstances of the establishment of the IFSB; the major role that the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the Basle Committee and the Asian Development Bank played in its early years and continues to play today; and the political battle that had to be resolved to decide where the new organization would be located.

IFSB – FSC/FSS of Korea to organise Seminar on Islamic Finance in Seoul

Points of Essence:

• The Islamic Financial Services Board will be organizing a seminar on Islamic finance next January in Seoul. It will collaborate with the Financial Services Commission/Financial Supervisory Service of Korea to create awareness of Islamic finance in Korea.

Kuala Lumpur, December 3, 2008 – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is organising a Seminar on Islamic Finance on 13 – 14 January 2009 in Seoul, Korea. The Seminar, which is the first for the IFSB in Korea, is co-organised with the Financial Services Commission/Financial Supervisory Service of Korea. The Seminar aims to create awareness of Islamic finance in Korea to facilitate sufficient recognition among its financial community, as well as to highlight the industry’s potential opportunities in the country.

IFSB approves guiding principles on Islamic schemes

Points of Essence:

• There was a general consensus during the Council meeting of the IFSB that Islamic banks have generally absorbed the shock of the current financial crisis. It was also urged that the IFSB should focus on capacity building of the industry and create better understanding of its approved prudential standards among the stakeholders of Islamic finance.
  
• At the meeting, two more IFSB standards will be issued regarding Capital Adequacy Requirements for Sukuk Securitizations and Real Estate Investments and Guiding Principles on Governance of Islamic Collective Investment Schemes.

KARACHI: Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has approved two exposure drafts of Capital Adequacy Requirements for Sukuk Securitizations and Real Estate Investments and Guiding Principles on Governance of Islamic Collective Investment Schemes.

The board approved these drafts and principles in a meeting in Dubai on Wednesday. State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar presided over the 13th Council meeting.