Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
My original training was in accountancy, and I started in the banking industry more than 20 years ago. I have worked for Calyon for the last 18 years in a variety of roles in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.
Before taking on this role, I was head of fixed income markets for the bank in NY, covering both North and South America. The bank took a decision in the second half of 2006 that we needed to strengthen considerably the bank’s offer in Islamic banking, and I took on this role at the beginning of 2007.
What does your role involve?
I am globally in charge of developing the Islamic business within Calyon. To ensure that there is no competition with existing business lines, we took the decision not to be a separate profit center, but to be complementary by providing a dedicated structuring, Shariah compliant, documentation and front-to-back deal execution service.
We also work as specialists with relationship managers in the origination and distribution of Islamic products. The strategy is both defensive and offensive; we need to be able to offer an Islamic solution when demanded by a client to ensure that we do not lose existing revenue streams where we have traditionally been market leaders, such as project and other structured finance, but also we need to develop new products and revenue streams to meet the new demands of this fast-growing investor base.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Building a team virtually from scratch in less than a year, in what was and still is a very difficult market with so many new entrants. We have strong expertise in Islamic finance combined more than 30 years of experience within the team, but also very strong knowledge of the underlying products, especially in capital markets. Probably the most rewarding part is to see the young people we have taken new into this business blossom after putting in so much hard work and enthusiasm.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
Our job is to deliver whatever products and services are demanded by our clients, so we do not focus just on what are perceived as high-margin solutions. We have always had a strong name in the GCC region for financing, and we now are leaders in this space with structures for Islamic clients who need to raise money for investment.
What are the strengths of your business?
Undoubtedly, the advantage of a global institution is its ability to use the resources of the firm on a global basis, and Calyon has long had a footprint in the Muslim countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. We can also leverage on the strength of the firm in terms of balance sheet, product innovation and infrastructure.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
The mandate of Calyon is predominantly to serve clients ranging from the largest corporate institution, to the farmers who were the original clients of Crédit Agricole when it was formed.
Interestingly, the tie-up with Grameen to start the Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance foundation shows we still believe that banking is a product that should be available to all, which is very much in line with the principles and spirit of Islamic finance.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The main obstacles are mostly within the bank, where the education on Islamic finance is an ongoing process despite the massive media attention that has been paid to the development of the industry.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry, maybe in the next five years?
Exponential growth in assets caused both by a growing number of Muslims who want to conduct their banking activities in a Shariah compliant fashion, but also the strong economic growth in the Muslim countries and especially the GCC with the high price of oil. We will also see continued innovation in terms of product development, including genuinely new products that are much more aligned with true risk taking and the share of rewards or losses.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance?
Standardization of products and documentation. We seem to have many workgroups and professional bodies working on this, with painfully slow progress so far with so many different positions to take into account.
For me, the solution is for the major banks in the market to solve the problem between them, and this will happen as the products developed become more widely known and traded, and less proprietary.
Calyon has been active in Islamic banking since the mid-1980s. It set up a dedicated global Islamic banking department team in 2004 based in Bahrain.