PROSES BERDIRINYA BANK ISLAM DI DUNIA ISLAM
Makalah ini disusun guna memenuhi tugas mata kuliah
“Perkembangan Pemikiran Ekonomi Islam”
Dosen Pengampu:
Prof. DR. H. Abdul Salam Arief, M.A.
Disusun oleh:
Kholid Fuadi
Konsentrasi Keuangan dan Perbankan Syariah
Prodi Hukum Islam
Program Pasca Sarjana Magister (S2)
UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta
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PERKEMBANGAN BANK ISLAM DI DUNIA ISLAM
Meskipun masih dalam posisi minoritas dibandingkan dengan posisi bank
konvensional, bank Islam terbukti menunjukkuan kebangkitan dan perkembangan yang
menggembirakan. Pada tahun 2001, sebanyak 55 negara sudah menerapkan sistem
perbankan dan keuangan Islam
1. Konsep bank islam yang mendasarkan diri pada prinsip
profit-loss-sharing (PLS), dan penghindaran terhadap riba, pada kenyataannya belum begitu
dipahami seutuhnya oleh berbagai belahan dunia islam dan bahkan masih menjadi misteri di
sejumlah negara-negara Barat.
SEJARAH PERKEMBANGAN BANK ISLAM
Di Timur Tengah, sebelum Islam datang, kemitraan bisnis yang berdasarkan atas
konsep mudharabah berjalan berdampingan dengan konsep pinjaman sistem
riba. Setelah
kedatangan Islam, transaksi keuangan berbasis
riba dilarang dan semua dana harus
disalurkan atas dasar
profit-sharing. Teknik kemitraan bisnis, dengan menggunakan prinsip
mudharabah ini, dipraktikkan sendiri oleh Nabi Muhammad SAW ketika bertindak sebagai
mudharib (wakil atau pihak yang dimodali) untuk istrinya, Khadijah. Sementara, khalifah
kedua, Umar bin Khattab, menginvestasikan uang anak yatim pada para saudagar yang
berdagang di jalur perdagangan antara Madinah dan Irak. Kemitraan-kemitraan bisnis
berdasarkan prinsip
profit-sharing yang sederhana semacam ini berlanjut dengan bentuk
yang sama sekali tidak berubah selama berabad-abad sampai bermunculannya
institusi-institusi keuangan Islam.
Institusi keuangan terkenal pertama yang didirikan oleh umat Islam didirikan sekitar
sepuluh tahun setelah wafat Nabi Muhammad SAW pada 632M oleh Khalifah Umar.
Ekspansi bangsa Arab di bawah
khalifah Abu Bakar yang dimulai tak lama setelah wafatnya
Nabi Muhammad SAW, dipenuhi oleh perasaan bersatu, kesamaan tujuan, dan keyakinan
diri yang ditanamkan oleh Islam. Namun demikian, kebiasaan para pejuang
Badui terhadap
1Latifa M. Algaoud da Me y K. Le is dala
2
perang dan barang rampasan benar-benar tiada bandingannya sehingga harus ditemukan
cara untuk mendistribusikan hadiah-hadiah perang.
Meskipun pasukannya berhasil menaklukkan kerajaan Byzantium dan Persia yang
merupakan dua adidaya yang sudah mapan waktu itu, Umar tetap mempertahankan
kehematan dan kesederhanaan hidupnya seperti dahulu dan memiliki tujuan moral yang
kuat. Semua warga negara yang miskin harus diberikan (menurut kriteria tertentu) pensiun
tahunan yang diambil dari
ghanimah (harta rampasan) dan pendapatan
khilafah. Institusi
yang dibangun waktu itu, diwan, terilhami oleh dan meniru birokrasi Persia, yang tujuannya
adalah mendaftar semua warga umat agar dapat memfasilitasi pendistribusian kekayaan
yang diperoleh (ata). Dana umat yang diperoleh dari wilayah-wilayah yang ditaklukkan
disimpan di tempat yang disebut
bayt al-mal, yang merupakan kombinasi dari institusi ata
dan institusi diwan. Tugas pemimpin komunitas yang baru adalah memastikan bahwa setiap
i di idu dija i e dapatka agia ya g adil . Bagi usli A a da o
-Arab mendapat
bagian yang sama.
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baru dilunasi pada awal 1960-an, karena para debitur bank ini melunasi utangnya kepada
bank dengan cara mengangsur.
Di Arab, pengalaman modern pertama dengan perbankan Islam adalah melalui Mit
Ghamr, Mesir, pada tahun 1963. Eksperimen ini menggabungkan prinsip bank tabungan
Jerman dengan prinsip perbankan koperasi pedesaan menurut kerangka umum aturan
permodalan Islam guna melayani mereka yang enggan diajak untuk menggunakan bank
konvensional karena alasan keagamaan.
Namun, bank ini dibentuk secara diam-diam, tanpa menonjolkan kesan Islam,
karena takut dianggap sebagai bentuk fundamentalisme Islam yang diharamkan oleh rezim
penguasa. Pada paruh kedua tahun 1867, proyek ini ditutup karena beberapa alasan
kemudian operasinya diambil alih oleh Bank Nasional Mesir dengan mendasarkan bunga.
Sembilan bank seperti itu di Mesir telah diambil-alih. Bank-bank yang yang tidak menarik
ataupun membayar bunga, yang sebagian besar dimodali dari aktivitas perdagangan dan
industri
–
secara langsung oleh bank sendiri atau bermitra dengan pihak lain
–
dan berbagi
keuntungan dengan para deposan, pada dasarnya lebih berfungsi sebagai lembaga investasi
tabungan ketimbang sebagai bank komersial murni.
Perlu diketahui bahwa antagonisme politik terhadap perbankan Islam seperti di
Mesir telah terjadi di berbagai tempat di dunia Islam, di mana perbankan Islam kadang tidak
dipercaya karena diduga ada keterkaitan dengan gerakan perlawanan politik Islam. Pada
berbagai kesempatan, Syria, Irak, Oman, dan Arab Saudi telah membuat orang takut untuk
membentuk institusi-institusi keuangan Islam, sementara negeri muslim yang banyak
penduduknya seperti Turki dan Indonesia lambat mempromosikan gagasan ini. Pakistan
maju pelan-pelan menuju target perekonomian bebas bunga.
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menyebutkan Islam dalam anggaran dasarnya. Bank ini masih eksis sebagai agen bantuan
pinjaman kemasyarakatan bagi kalangan miskin yang tidak mampu melunasi utang,
memberikan pinjaman kepada para mahasiswa dan sejumlah proyek kecil, dan berfungsi di
bawah Kementrian Urusan dan Jaminan Sosial.
Muslim Pilgrims Savings Corporation didirikan pada 1963 untuk memberikan
layanan tabungan haji bagi warga Malaysia. Pada 1969, badan ini berkembang menjadi
Pilgrism Management and Fund Board atau kini populer disebut Tabung Haji. Institusi ini
telah bertindak sebagai sebuah perusahaan permodalan yang menginvestasikan tabungan
para calon jamaah haji sesuai dengan hukum Islam, namun perannya agak terbatas, yakni
sebagai institusi keuangan non-bank. Keberhasilan Tabung Haji, bagaimanapun, menjadi
pendorong untuk mendirikan
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB), bank komersial Islam
yang beroperasi penuh di Malaysia.
Perkembangan selanjutnya adalah era ketika terjadi lonjakan harga minyak pada
tahun 1973-1974, sehingga menjadi basis modal finansial untuk menyokong perbankan
komersial berskala luas seraya menciptakan pangsa pasar yang cukup luas dari kalangan
penerimanya untuk mendukung ekspansi bank-bank komersial dan juga bank-bank Islam.
Sumberdaya minyak memungkinkan banyak sekali institusi untuk berpartisipasi dalam
pembangunan sosial dan ekonomi negara-negara muslim, sehingga mulai muncul rasa
percaya diri di kalangan negara-negara di kawasan Timur Tengah. Faktor ini juga
menyebabkan perubahan iklim politik di negara-negara tersebut sehingga bank Islam dapat
didirikan tanpa secara lebih leluasa. Hampir semua bank Islam yang didirikan pada tahun
1970-an didanai dari kekayaan yang terkait dengan minyak.
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lainnya, termasuk perusahaan asuransi, perusahaan produksi, pusat-pusat riset dan
pelatihan yang beraktivitas di 43 negara. Bank-bank yang berasosiasi dengan
Al-Baraka,
yang lebih besar dari dua grup ini, menguasai 26 persen aset dan 23 persen deposito
bank-bank Islam swasta. Perkembangan ini terus berlanjut hingga sampai pada tahun 1998,
diperkirakan ada sekitar 200 bank dan institusi keuangan Islam yang tersebar di 43 negara di
seluruh dunia, dengan aset setidaknya mencapai US$100 Milyar.
Banyak pelajaran yang bisa dipetik dari pengalaman ini, pertama, jika ingin
berpegang pada konsep perbankan Islam secara signifikan, maka institusi-institusi harus
mampu memberikan seluruh produk layanan perbankan komersialnya, tentunya dengan
mengikuti aturan dan norma-norma dalam Islam, dan bukan beroperasi sebagai institusi
tabungan khusus yang terbatas. Kedua, aktivitas bank harus bersifat komersial, bukan
sosioekonomi. Sebagian ulama telah berupaya memaksakan pembedaan antara bank Islam
(yang memiliki tanggung jawab sosioekonomi) dengan bank yang halal, atau bank tanpa
bung (yang aktivitasnya murni komersial namun berdasar pada prinsip bebas bunga).
Namun pembedaan ini tidak memperoleh dukungan dari kalangan
fuqaha. Ketiga, sudah
pasti institusi keuangan Islam tidak bisa berkembang jika dihadapkan pada sikap
bermusuhan dari otoritas-otoritas pemerintah. Ketiga hambatan di atas, kalau kita cermati
lebih bersifat hambatan dari luar institusi bank Islam itu sendiri.
Bentuk Ekspansi Bank Islam
Ekspansi bank Islam pada dasarnya mengambil dua bentuk
2. Pertama, meliputi
restrukturisasi sistem finansial secara keseluruhan untuk menyesuaikan dengan aturan
-aturan Islam. Tiga negara yang menjalankan proses transformasi ini adalah Iran, Sudan dan
Pakistan. Di Iran, semua bank sudah beroperasi di bawah hukum Islam sejak Maret 1984
dengan menghapuskan riba dari operasi-operasi perbankan, dan digantikan dengan prinsip
profit-sharing. Di Sudan, bank konvensional diperintahkan untuk dijadikan bank Islam sejak
Juli 1984. Pakistan adalah negara pertama yang melakukan pergantian penuh sistem
keuangannya, tetapi pendekatannya dilakukan secara bertahap.
Advisory Council of Islamic
2
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Ideology (Dewan Penasihat Ideologi Islam) dibentuk di bawah Konstitusi 1962 untuk
memberikan nasihat tentang kerangka hukum dan institusional sistem perekonomian bebas
bunga. Pada 1977, Presiden Pakistan meminta Dewan menyiapkan sebuah
blueprint untuk
proses transisi tersebut, hingga akhirnya tahun 1981 muncul rekening PLS
(Profit-Loss-Sharing), kemudian 1985 semua bank komersial yang menggunakan mata uang
rupee
dijadikan tanpa bunga, dan tahun 2001 ditargetkan sebagai tahun untuk mengalihkan
seluruh sistem ke basis tanpa bunga.
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DAFTAR PUSTAKA
A ifi , )ai ul,
Memahami Bank Syariah: Lingkup, Peluang, Tantangan dan Prospek
,
Alfabet, Jakarta 1999.
8
LAMPIRAN
Islamic bank to be launched in Nigeria by Aug '11
Nigerian Jaiz International PLC is working to launch its banking operation by August
2011with technical support f rom the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), a top Jaiz
executive said in Dhaka Saturday. Currentl y, 24 commercial ba nks including foreign ones like
Ci tibank and Standa rd Cha rtered Bank a re opera ting thei r businesses a cross the Afri can
country. But there is no Islamic bank in Ni geria. Nigeria , whi ch has over 70 million Muslims
a ccounting for 50 percent of the total popula tion, dra fted Islami c banking gui delines in 2009,
including the types of Sha riah-compliant products and risk recommenda tions for banks .
"Over 70 per cent of the total population don't use banking network. So we want to provide
an al terna ti ve through lunching very ethi cal and tra nspa rent Islamic banking s ys tem to our
people," he said while des cribing the a cti vi ties of Islami c banking i n dif ferent countries in the
world. "We don't ha ve expertise to run Islami c banking in Nigeria . So we ha ve come here,"
Bi ntube, a senior banker, said adding tha t a high -power delega tion of Jaiz Bank recei ved
training from IBBL i n November 2009. "We've planned to expand the Islami c banking
businesses in our nei ghbouring countries including Ghana , Ca meroon and Togo after
capturi ng Nigeria ," he said while repl yi ng to a query. Explaining the advantage of Islamic
banking, the banker said Islami c banking is a real economic a cti vi ty. "But tradi tional banking
is a specula tion like gambling," he said, adding tha t the Islami c banks do not finance anything
tha t is ha rmful to the society.
In 2011, shall we see the emergence of Islamic Banking?
Recent reports ha ve indi ca ted that the central bank will soon move to regulate a n Islamic
commercial bank. What exa ctl y is invol ved i n Islami c ba nking? Globally, the assets of Islamic
banks ha ve been expanding a t double-digi t ra tes for a decade and Islami c banking is
increasingl y becoming a visible al terna ti ve to conventional banks in Islami c countries and
countries wi th many muslims. Islamic banks serve muslim customers , but a re not religious
ins ti tutions . They a re profit-ma ximising intermedia ries between sa vers and i nves tors and
offer cus todial and other tradi tional banking servi ces . The cons traints they fa ce a re, however,
di fferent and a re based on Sha riah la w. There a re four main fea tures tha t di fferentiate
Islami c banking from the conventional ba nks .
Prohibi tion agains t interes t (Riba) is the major difference between Islami c and tra ditional
banking. Islam prohibi ts Riba on the grounds tha t interest is a form of exploi tati on and is
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o a loa as a e a d fo the use of o e s o ey is ot allo ed. Prohibi tion agains t games ofchance (Ma ysir) and chance (gha ra r): Islami c banking ba rs specula tion - increasing wealth by
chance ra ther than producti ve effort. Ma ysi r refers to a voida ble uncertainty; for example,
ga mbling at a casino. An exa mple of gha ra r is underta king a business venture without
suffi cient informa tion.
Prohibi tion agains t forbidden (Hara m) a cti vi ties : Islami c banks ma y finance onl y permissible
(Halal) acti vi ties . Banks a re not supposed to lend to companies or indi viduals invol ved in
a cti vi ties deemed to ha rm society (for example, gambling) or prohibi ted under Islamic law
(for example, financing cons truction of a plant to make al coholic beverages ). Pa yment of
so e of the a k s p ofits to e efit so iety )akat : Musli s elie e i justi e a d e uality
in opportuni ty (not outcome). One wa y they do this is to redistribute income to provi de a
mi nimum standa rd of li ving for the poor. Zaka t is one of the fi ve tenets of Islam. Where Za kat
is not collected by the s tate; Islami c banks dona te di rectl y to Islamic religious ins ti tutions .
In countries wi th si gnifi cant muslim communi ties like Uganda, ma ny la rge segments of
muslims do not ha ve a ccess to adequa te banking servi ces-often because devout muslims are
unwilling to put thei r sa vings into a tradi tional financial s ystem tha t runs counter to their
religious principles . Islamic banks seek to provide financial servi ces in a wa y tha t is
compa tible wi th Islamic tea ching, and i f Islami c banks can tap that potential clientele, that
could hasten economi c development in these countries. There is evi dence of close
correlation between financial sector development and growth. Countries whose financial
s ys tems offer a va riety of servi ces tend to grow fas ter. Banks , whether Islami c or tra di tional,
pla y a fundamental economi c role as financial intermedia ries and as fa cilita tors of pa yments.
The rise of Islamic banking has contributed to economic development in two main ways.
One key benefit is increased financial intermediation. In Islamic countries a nd regions , la rge
segments of the population do not use banks . The Islami c world, as a whole, has a lower level
of financial development than other regions—in pa rt because conventional banks do not
satis fy the needs of devout Muslims .
Moreover, beca use Islamic banking requi res borrowers and lenders to sha re the risk of
failure, i t provides a shock-absorbing mechanism tha t is essential in devel oping economies . A
mechanism tha t allows the sha ring of business risk in return for a s take in the profits
e ourages i est e t i su h a u ertai e iro e t a d satisfies Isla ’s ore te et of
social justice. If Islamic banking can emerge, Muslim businesses stand to benefit.
The writer is a Market and Product Specialist at The Microfinance Support Ce ntre Ltd.
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Malaysia, the orld’s iggest arket for Isla i o ds, ill issue a li e se efore the e d
of this year to a new Islamic bank that will be jointly established by institutions from Asia
and the Middle East, central bank G overnor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said. The newl y formed enti ty
will ha ve a capital of at least $1 billion, Zeti said in a n interview la te yes terda y, without
na ming the compa nies or organi za tions invol ved. A second s o- alled ega Isla i a k
permi t ma y be issued by the central bank next yea r, she said. Pa t of the easo fo this is to
ha ve the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle, to ha ve a la rge pla yer who can mobilize and
intermedia te large volumes of funds for businesses a round the wold, )eti said. ‘ight o ,
e ha e a la ge u e of Isla i fi a ial i stitutio s ut they do t ha e the s ale.
Muslim-majori ty Mala ysia began pioneering Sha riah-compliant finance wi th i ts fi rst Islamic
bank three decades a go. It is toda y responsible fo o e tha 6 pe e t of the o ld s $
illio outsta di g Isla i o ds, o sukuk, that o ply ith the eligio s a o i te est,
a ccording to da ta compiled by Bloomberg. The new bank will be able to facilitate larger
issuance of such notes, Zeti said. The country has offered ta x breaks and other i ncenti ves to
a ttra ct global financial ins ti tutions incl uding Aberdeen Asset Management Pl c and Franklin
Templeton Investments in a bid to cement its role as the global Islami c financial hub of Asia.
Liquidi ty Ma nagement
Kuala Lumpur is already home to the Islamic Financial Servi ces Authori ty, a global s
tandard-setting body for an indus try wi th $1 trillion in assets. The ISFB this week formall y established
an Internati onal Islami c Liquidi ty Mana gement Corp . whi ch will also be based in the
Mala ysian ca pital and issue short-term instruments to help Sha riah -compliant banks better
ma nage funds . I Ju e, Malaysia s e t al a k issued li e ses to fi e fo eig a ks, i ludi g
Na tional Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and I do esia s PT Ba k Ma di i. It also issued pe its fo
four opera tors of takaful , or Islami c insura nce, in September. The li censes a re pa rt of a
government plan announced last yea r to a ttra ct forei gn inves tment. The oti atio fo this
is to enhance our inter-linka ges wi th other fi nancial s ystems a round the worl d and fa cili tate
t ade a d i est e t a ti ity, said )eti, du i g a Isla i fi a e o fe e e i Kuala
Lumpur. We ha e li e alized this a ket to allo fo fo eig u e y-denomina ted
issuance, she said. This ill fa ilitate this a ket to g o fu the . Islami c banking assets in
the Southeas t Asian na tion rea ched 337.6 billion ri nggi t ($109 billion) in Jul y, a ccounting for
pe e t of the ou t y s total, the fi a e i ist y said i its annual economi c report on
Oct. 15.
To conta ct the reporters on this s tory: Sora ya Perma tasari in Kuala Lumpur a t
sora ya @bloomberg.net; Haslinda Amin in Singapore a t hamin1@bloomberg.net. To contact
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Are Islamic banks the financial institutions of the future?
Wi th the search underwa y for a new moneta ry s ys tem for the post-financial crisis era , Islamic
banking gains a new reputa tion for s tability. Islami c ba nking has grown a t an annual ra te of
15% a nd rea ched a volume of $1 trillion, fi ve times higher than in 2003. Wi th the financial
crisis rea ching i ts peak, more and more politi cians and economists a gree tha t yesterda y's
fi nancial world a nd tomorrow's financial world will not ha ve much in common. A new codex
is needed. Germany's president Hors t Koehler said, tha t the world needs a second Bretton
Woods, referring to the ga thering of leaders after World Wa r II whi ch led to a global
moneta ry s ys tem based on the gold s tanda rd and on fi xed exchange ra tes .
Bretton Woods , named a fter a city in New Hampshi re, ceased to exis t in 1971, when then-US
president Ri cha rd Ni xon nullified the gold s tandard. As a rea ction Wes tern European s tates
decla red their own moneta ry s ys tem in 1973. Did this nullifi ca tion led to the current financial
crisis? Without the gold s tanda rd, dolla rs could be printed wi th no li mit, leading to excessive
levera ging and a debt-laden economy. Low-interes t ra tes led to asset inflation on the global
s tock exchanges . In the case of the TMT-bubble a t the end of the 1990s this infla tion was
crea ted without any real economi c performance (mos t internet s ta rt-up where in debt).
Asset-based s ys tem
In an Islamic moneta ry s ys tem, money i tself has no value. 'Islam denies the conventional
mentality tha t out of every dollar a new dollar has to be crea ted', says Sha riah schola r Dr.
Imran. This means , tha t ca pital can onl y increase in value in value if a fi nancial vehicle's
underl ying asset i ncreases in value. Since interes t is forbidden under Islami c law, money can
not add value to i tself.
Closer to real economy
Loans, derivatives and hedge funds are haram, beca use short-selling and s peculation are
also haram. Further more, the risk-sharing concept of Muda raba, when entrepreneurs are
granted ca pital and share the profits with the bank, moves Islamic banks closer to the real
economy. As a result, most Islamic ba nks have performed well so far in 2008. Nearly all
Islamic banks reported profits in the first nine month of 2008. Despi te the recent turmoil in
Dubai's real esta te ma rket, Islami c home devel oper Deyaa r's Q3 profi ts jumped 56% to
Dhs312 ($84.9). Other Islami c banks such as Gulf Finance House (GFH) also show no let-up in
expa nding. On November 10, GFH unveiled i ts master plan for a $5bn Energy Ci ty i n Libya .
Al though Islami c banks ' s tocks fell too, Islamic banks seem to be better prepa red for any
worsening of the financial crisis (as yet). Investing in permissible s tocks line wi th Sha riah also
has i ts benefits for the pri va te inves tor. Conventi onal banking and insura nce sha res, whi ch
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The Asian Banker publis hes list of the world's top 100 Islamic banks by assets.
The report notes tha t 2008 financial yea r assets ha ve increased 66% since the previous yea r's
survey, bucking the trend of slow growth in other ma rkets - Asia's 300 larges t banks, for
exa mple, onl y grew assets 13.4% in the same period. "Islamic finance has seen an incredible
surge in popularity, based on stronger reg ulatory regimes and a better international
understanding of its dynamics," sa ys Emma nuel Daniel , President and CEO of The Asian
Ba nker. The report notes tha t Islamic finance assets a re la rgel y concentra ted in Ira n, Kuwait,
Mala ysia, Saudi Arabia and the Uni ted Arab Emi ra tes, but growth dri vers ha ve come from all
over the region, i n parti cular Al-Ra jhi Bank, whi ch saw assets increase 32.1%. Ba nks in
Ba hrain, Mala ysia, Kuwait, Qa ta r, Syria , and the UK also saw signi fi cant double - or tri ple-di git
asset growth.
World's la rgest Islami c banks by assets a re concentra ted in onl y fi ve ma rkets
Despi te the financial turmoil i n late 2008 tha t crippled so many la rge Wes tern i nsti tutions,
Islami c banks ha ve continued to grow i n promi nence and si ze. According to Asian Banker
Resea rch, the world's 100 la rges t wholl y Islami c banks ranked by assets held more than
$580bn in assets in 2008, a 66% increase from the $350bn they held in the previous year. The
top ten banks remained la rgel y the same as the ones tha t domina ted our previous ranking in
2008, wi th Bank Melli Iran (BMI) still topping the list and Saudi Arabia 's Al Ra jhi Bank in
second place, albei t ca tchi ng up rapi dl y wi th a 32% surge in assets compa red wi th BMI's
negligible growth. Ira nian banks a re s till the bigges t Islamic banki ng pla yers, holding seven
out of the top 10 ranks, a nd 12 of the 100. The Iranian banks also ta ke up a round 40% of
listing's assets . The four next-la rges t ma rkets—the UAE, Mala ysia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwai t—
ea ch has si milar asset sizes to one another, and together ca rve out nea rl y another 40% of the
ranking's assets combined, wi th smaller ba nks in 10 other ma rkets roundi ng out the list.
Al though two Islami c banks in the UK a re la rge enough to be in the top 100, Islami c banks
headqua rtered outside the Middle Eas t, Asia and North Afri ca a re s till very s mall next to
longer-es tablished pla yers in the Mi ddle Eas t. East of Iran, as onl y Mala ysian and Bangladeshi
Islami c banks ha ve a signi fi cant amount of assets. Indonesia, the world's mos t populous
Muslim na tion, onl y has two banks on the list, while Pa kistan has three, and Brunei and
Si ngapore one ea ch. Saudi Arabia's representa tion is proportionatel y the larges t, as the three
banks i t has in the lis t a re all in the top 35. Suda nese banks appeared to be among the
weakest, wi th onl y seven appea ring in this yea r's ra nking, down from 19 i n the previous
ranking.
Sa udi Ara bian banks a re the mos t profi table in the sector
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three Saudi Arabian banks in the top 100 Islami c banks contri buted 19% of the ranking's total
income. Al Ra jhi Bank had the highest net i ncome fi gure of $1.74bn, the onl y bank to brea k a
billion, whi ch was almost three ti mes more than the second -mos t profitable Islamic bank,
Kuwai t Finance House. The bank also ea rned over fi ve times the mos t profi table Iranian bank,
Ba nk Teja rat. The bank that jumped the grea test in the asset ranki ng is Dubai's s ta rt-up
lender Noor Islamic Bank, whi ch climbed up the ranks to 20th this yea r. CIMB Islami c Bank
also shot up 19 posi tions to stand in the 22nd posi tion wi th asset growth of 107.5%.
This is largel y due to the growth of consumer banking, where financial assets grew by 130.2%
and deposits by 82.3%. The bank expects this segment to continue contributing positi vel y to
the bank's bottom line. On the other hand, Bank Islam Brunei Da russalam—the sole Bruneian
bank in the listing—slipped the most from 34th to 49th. Investment Da r fro m Kuwai t, despite
a 20.9% growth in assets , dropped from 19th to 30th posi tion since i ts growth fell short of
the overall growth of the banks in the ra nking.
Expecti ng ma jor changes in the top 10 banks within the next six months
Looking ahead, i t ca n al ready be seen tha t BMI ma y not be the la rges t bank in the listing for
much l onger, as it had a negligible growth ra te in the ranking. This ma y be due to the
European Union freezing the bank's assets, whi ch has shrunk the bank's lead over Al Rajhi
Ba nk to jus t 4% from 40% the previous yea r. Considering Al Ra jhi Bank's 32% change in total
assets in the yea r, i t is likel y to overta ke BMI in asset size in 2009. Furthermore, wi th a lack of
growth in assets of Dubai Islami c Bank and Bank Mas kan, we expect to see a b road shake -up
