The World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2011/12 to be Launched on the 22nd November 2011

Nov. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- The World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2011/12, developed in collaboration with leading international advisory firm Ernst & Young, will be officially launched on the 22nd of November 2011 at the 18th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2011) at the Gulf International Convention Centre in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report, a ground-breaking initiative designed to not only identify but also to raise the bar of competitive excellence, strategic leadership and performance improvement in the global Islamic finance industry, now in its 8th annual edition, will analyze key strategies that leading Islamic financial institutions must deploy in order to ensure continued growth in a challenging economic environment.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the report, David McLean, Managing Director of the World Islamic Banking Conference said that “the global Islamic finance industry has undergone major transformations in the last few years in its quest to boost international competitiveness and to build a sustainably profitable business model. There has been a focus on product innovation efforts that aim to provide a more comprehensive array of Shari'ah-based products for the industry. The global Islamic finance industry has also seen significant developments in regulatory frameworks and Shari'ah standardization making global connectivity that much more achievable.”

“However, both the challenge and the opportunity currently facing leading industry players is how will Islamic banks succeed in making this growth trend sustainable and profitable”, he added.

Addressing how the 2011/12 Report will tackle the key drivers of the CEOs’ agenda and the outlook for Islamic finance, Ashar Nazim, MENA Head of Ernst & Young’s Islamic Finance Services, said that “Islamic banking has been continuously gaining market share across key MENA markets, but the question remains on how sustainable this growth is, especially in view of ongoing prolonged pressure on profitability.  As the leading industry players compete to stay ahead, many are looking into transforming and improving their operational performance. Investment in operating model redesign, customer analytics, capital management and regulatory compliance appear to be essential features of the CEOs’ agenda in 2012.”

The eagerly anticipated report, which has over the past 8 years evolved into an indispensable reference resource for the key decision-makers in the global Islamic banking and finance industry, will be exclusively launched onsite at a special plenary session of WIBC 2011. The Report titled “A Brave New World of Sustainable Growth” will be presented by Imtiaz Ibrahim, Senior Director, Assurance, Ernst & Young and Abid Shakeel, Executive Manager, Ernst & Young.

Convened with the strategic partnership of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the 18th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2011), which will be held from the 21st to the 23rd of November, will see more than 1200 industry leaders from over 50 countries gather for discussions that will prepare the Islamic finance industry to “Compete for Global Growth”.

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