The IFSB membership continues to attract interest from international regulatory and supervisory institutions

The IFSB admits 14 new organsiations to its’ membership and upgrades one member from observer to associate status.

- The IFSB members now total 164 organisations comprising 41 regulatory and supervisory authorities, six international inter-governmental organisations and 117 market players and professional firms operating in 33 jurisdictions.

Jeddah, March 26, 2008 – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) membership has continued to attract interest from international regulatory and supervisory institutions. In its’ 12th meeting held at the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) headquarters in Jeddah, the Council of the IFSB resolved to admit 14 new members to the IFSB bringing the total members to 164.

The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and Chairperson of the 18-member Council, and attended by 13 central banks’ governors, 3 governors’ representatives as well as the President of the IDB.

The 4 newly admitted supervisory and regulatory authorities’ members are the Maldives Monetary Authority (Full member), Maldives Capital Market Development Authority and Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (Associate members) and Ministry of Economy and Finances, Senegal (Observer member). The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which is already an Observer member, has been upgraded to Associate member. The Council also admitted the Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector, which is one of the IDB group, as an Associate member. The nine new financial market players admitted as Observer Members are from Bahrain, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Sudan (see list below).

Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, Secretary-General of the IFSB said “The continuous growth of the IFSB membership from organisations across multiple jurisdictions demonstrates the interest and appreciation of the industry in the work of the IFSB. The IFSB 164 members now comprise 41 regulatory and supervisory authorities, six international inter-governmental organisations and 117 market players and professional firms operating in 33 jurisdictions.”

He added that the IFSB looks forward to its members participating in the working groups, responding to surveys, providing feedback on exposure drafts, and attending the various workshops and seminars. Participation of members greatly support the IFSB in its’ mandate to provide guidance on effective supervision and regulation that assists in enhancing the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry.

The newly admitted members are:

Full Member

1. Maldives Monetary Authority, Maldives

Associate Members

2. Capital Market Development Authority, Maldives
3. Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector Sector, Saudi Arabia
4. Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, United Arab Emirates
5. Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong SAR (upgrade)

Observer Members

6. ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Bahrain
7. Hannover ReTakaful B.S.C, Bahrain
8. Shariyah Review Board, Bahrain
9. Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., Japan
10. Asian Finance Bank Berhad, Malaysia
11. Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar
12. Allied Cooperative Insurance Group, Saudi Arabia
13. Ministry of Economy and Finances, Senegal
14. Algazeera Sudanese Jordanian Bank, Sudan
15. Farmer’s Commercial Bank, Sudan

The full list of the 164 IFSB members can be seen on www.ifsb.org. Their roles and responsibilities (by category) are detailed in the IFSB Articles of Agreement which is downloadable from the website.

Siham Ismail
Islamic Financial Services Board
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: + 603 2698 4248 ext 119
Email: siham@ifsb.org

About the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB):

The IFSB is an international standard-setting organisation that promotes and enhances the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry by issuing global prudential standards and guiding principles for the industry, broadly defined to include banking, capital markets and insurance sectors.

The IFSB also conducts research and coordinates initiatives on industry-related issues, as well as organises roundtables, seminars and conferences for regulators and industry stakeholders. Towards this end, the IFSB works closely with relevant international, regional and national organisations, research/educational institutions and market players.

For more information about the IFSB, please visit www.ifsb.org

This release was published on openPR.