Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia ranked in world’s top five Islamic finance economies by the Islamic Development Bank

Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia ranked in world’s top five Islamic finance economies by the Islamic Development Bank

The IFDI provides an annual rank for each economy in the global Islamic finance industry, aggregating scores across five areas – quantitative development, knowledge, governance, corporate social responsibility, and awareness.Bahrain's high ranking was based upon its robust and supportive regulation for Islamic finance and banking as well as increases in both the number of Islamic banking assets. Mr. Fahad Yateem, Director of Islamic Financial Institutions Supervision Directorate at the Central Bank of Bahrain said: “I am delighted that Bahrain has once again scored so highly in the IFDI, and particularly for Governance. The results are testament to our longstanding strategy of pioneering yet comprehensive regulation, creating a framework conducive to digital and technological innovation in the industry.“The recently launched Bahrain Open Banking Framework, which provides detailed guidelines ensuring the holistic implementation of Open Banking for the entire banking industry – the first in the world to incorporate Islamic Finance.“As the report makes clear, the COVID-19 pandemic has further catalysed digital innovation in the industry as well as consumer uptake of technology. Moreover, it is these technological advancements within Islamic Finance that will be a key driver of the industry's post-covid recovery.”Dalal Buhejji, Director, Business Development, Financial Services at the EDB said: