Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I started my career with Citibank Pakistan, in the corporate banking division and then moved to a start-up involving the setting-up of the Investment Bank in Pakistan. The feeling of being a big fish in a small pond as not being an ideal career development move resulted in a transfer to Citibank London with the financial engineering group to acquire transferable skills.
Subsequently, assignments followed with Citibank Budapest and Citibank New York as regional treasurer and capital markets head, and then finally, Saudi American Bank in Riyadh, where I headed the Islamic banking division.
The security situation in Saudi Arabia necessitated a geographic move for the family and thus, I landed my present job as managing director for ABC Islamic Bank in Bahrain, nearly three years ago. .
What does your role involve?
My role involves supervising marketing of corporate and institutional clients in GCC & Arab World markets, together with the development of Shariah compliant capital markets and foreign exchange derivative products. Also the development of a Shariah compliant fund management platform..
What is your greatest achievement to date?
It would be difficult to choose from a variety of rewarding and enriching assignments, but I guess the greatest satisfaction I would take would be from the three start-up assignments I encountered during my career. These give you a chance to put your personal stamp on the development of a business where you know the minute details of every aspect, and can sit back subsequently and contemplate the challenges you overcame together as a team.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
The composite results of the Islamic Bank in a relatively short span of time have started producing a return on equity that is one of the highest in the Arab Banking Corporation stable of businesses, which is certainly a very satisfying feeling.
What are the strengths of your business?
I would have to say the focus that the marketing team brings to our target market customers, combined with an extremely flexible and comprehensive array of Shariah compliant products and services, backed by the size and strength of the sole parent i.e Arab Banking Corporation.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
In addition to the ones listed above, the upbeat regional economic environment and strong customer preference for Islamic banking would surely have to be the two most significant factors of success..
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The biggest obstacle is an industry-wide constraint on the availability of skilled and talented manpower.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry, maybe in the next five years?
There is no doubt in my mind that the Islamic finance industry will go from strength to strength, and following a stage of consolidation, will occupy its rightful place in competition with conventional counterparts.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance?
If I could change one thing, it would have to be the general perception of Islamic banking being nothing else than calling a rose by a different name. The ethical values of Islamic banking need to be highlighted and its utility underscored as an alternative form of banking that complements conventional banking instead of being viewed as a parallel system where never the twain shall meet. This is simply not true.
Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) was incorporated as a Bahrain joint stock company on the 17th January 1980 through a special decree by the Amir of Bahrain and was issued an offshore banking unit license by the Bahrain Monetary Agency with an authorized capital of US$1 billion.
ABC’s strategy of diversified growth has led to the development of its widespread network (the ABC Group) of branches, representative offices, subsidiaries and affiliates in 21 countries around the world, including most principal international financial centers.