Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
In 2001, I decided to move from conventional banking to Islamic banking for personal reasons. I joined HSBC Amanah as the global head of asset finance and advisory group. In 2003, I moved to Standard Chartered to establish a global Islamic banking platform in selected countries to cater to the growing need of Shariah solutions of our customers.
What does your role involve?
I am responsible for the overall Islamic banking business of the group including both consumer banking and wholesale banking. We offer comprehensive solutions to our customers to allow them to interact with the financial system in accordance with their beliefs. I also sit on several advisory boards working with various governments to allow Islamic finance to be offered in their economies to ensure that capital can flow in an efficient manner. I am also a board member of International Islamic Financial Market — an industry body which aspires to work towards industry standardization of financial instruments and contracts.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
We have won many accolades from the industry with many league table credentials to share. This is testament of the depth and breadth of the bank’s ability to help promote innovations and set industry benchmarks. I think my greatest achievement has been to use the Standard Chartered Group franchise to serve our customers and meet their banking needs. More importantly, I am also blessed with a great team which helps me respond to customers’ needs every day. Collectively, we are committed in delivering a sustainable business environment that will benefit the economies of our markets.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
We are focused on offering end-to-end solutions to the customers rather than an individual product push strategy. I can say that we are successful across both geographies and product spectrums.
What are the strengths of your business?
My team and the commitment of Standard Chartered to offer Shariah solutions to our customers are our biggest strength. We have consistently invested in new solutions and provide thought leadership and innovation to the market under the guidance of our Shariah board. For example, we worked on the inaugural Islamic transactional banking program for the government of Pakistan and we did the debut Sukuk issue for the governments of Singapore and Indonesia.
We were the first bank to offer Islamic credit cards in Pakistan and Bangladesh and the list goes on. We believe in delivering a positive impact to the development of Islamic finance as well as being here for good for our stakeholders in our market place.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Key areas would be our firm support from the group, we have an established presence in our markets and our customers trust us. We have a comprehensive product offering to meet our customers’ needs and the bank, as a whole, continues to deliver consistent and sustained performance. All of these factors help us in building a sustainable business, and creating value for our shareholders, supporting our customers and contributing to the community in which we live and work.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
While we are witnessing a rapid growth in the Islamic banking sector, we also recognize that the stage of development varies across countries. The different stages of development in the Islamic finance sector can be viewed as a strength, as well as a challenge, especially in delivering product solutions to meet the customers’ needs.
It has to make appropriate adjustments to ensure that it distinguishes itself from interest based activities and yet has the ability to provide alternative and economically viable solutions, as demanded by customers. Such solutions must cater to the needs of the Islamic banking customers and yet should also be acceptable to other participants such as the scholars and the regulators.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in, say, the next five years or so?
The general consensus is that the market size is around US$1 trillion. I think it has the potential to double in the next five to seven years. The rapid progress in the sector is fueled by the support from the governments to promote Islamic finance, growing customer awareness, continuous development of product solutions to meet clients’ needs as well as the growing number of new Islamic financial institutions focusing on meeting the needs of a broader segment of society.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
One thing which would help accelerate the growth is through increased coordination among the regulators to set standard regulatory platforms. This will clearly speed up the transfer of product solutions and bring down the cost. However, we must recognize the public policy and local environment of each country. All said, I am an optimist. Like any other industry, Islamic finance also faces its challenges, but I see the glass as half full instead of half empty.