Standard Chartered Private Bank,
which has recently rolled out Islamic financial services to clients,
expects such banking to expand by up to 25 per cent over the next two or
three years from its current relatively low base, according to media
reports.

The comments, made by Stephen Richards Evans, head of private banking
for Europe, Middle
East, Africa, South Asia and the Americas, were given as the bank
continued its launch programme for Islamic banking in different
financial centres, this time featuring in Dubai. The services will be
available also in London, Geneva and Jersey. The services and products
include fiduciary deposits, property financing, equities, Islamic fixed
income instruments, mutual funds (including exchange-traded funds),
third-party structured products and discretionary services.

The move by the private bank, part of London-listed Standard
Chartered, comes at a time of continued expansion in the Islamic banking
model; assets of such banks are expected to reach $1.1 trillion
globally in 2012, up 33 per cent from 2010, StanChart says.

“We have identified a latent demand among our existing and
prospective private banking clients for Islamic private banking
solutions. With our deep understanding of the region, strong
international footprint across the world’s most dynamic markets and a
wide experience in Islamic banking, we are well-placed to meet this
need,” said Khalid El Gibaly, regional head of consumer banking, UAE and
Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank.

The services will be delivered in collaboration with Standard Chartered Saadiq, the firm’s Islamic banking arm.

Large market

“In the GCC alone, there are more than 500,000 high net worth
individuals with net investible assets of over 1.7 trillion and this
number is rapidly growing in light of relatively better economic
conditions in the region compared to other parts of the world. However,
this segment remains one of the most underdeveloped and underserved
amongst all the Islamic banking client segments,” Stephen Richards
Evans, regional head of private banking, Europe, Middle East, India,
Africa and Americas, Standard Chartered, is reported to have said.

Standard Chartered has an independent Shariah supervisory committee
comprising of Dr Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah, Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi and Dr
Mohammad Ali Elgari. The committee guides bank products and certifies
that they follow Shariah rules.