ISLAMIC FINANCE
Positive Progression Digital transformation allowing Islamic banks to take a lead over conventional; the inherent qualities of Sharia finance aligning with investors’ ethical concerns and increased capital markets activity in the sector. Khurram Hilal - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Saadiq, shares his thoughts with MEA Finance about the prospects for Islamic Finance in the near future
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illdigitaltransformation help to grow the market s h a re of I s l a m i c Finance in the region and the wider world?
Khurram Hilal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Saadiq
We see this as a great opportunity for Islamic banks to embark on the digital transformation journey and take the lead. If we look back a decade ago, the focus of Islamic banks was to develop products in order to be at par with the conventional offering. You can call it the era of “Product innovation.” Today, since Islamic banking is mostly at par with conventional banking in terms of product proposition, Islamic banks can now focus their efforts in taking the lead through “digital transformation.” In this context, we are starting to the see momentum in three areas (i) appearance of stand-alone digital banks, (ii) traditional Islamic Banks digitalising their client journeys and last but not the least (iii) the rise of the fintechs which are focused on specific
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