IFN is delighted to announce the results of the 10th annual IFN Service Providers Poll, honoring the best and brightest of the stalwart heroes supporting the industry in every incarnation and through all of its operations. Yet again we received a phenomenal response: with the poll going from strength to strength as readers unite to vote for their top players for 2015.
Recognized as the industry’s leading poll, the IFN Service Providers Poll prides itself on being the only comprehensive and unbiased guide to the leading supporting providers of the Islamic financial services industry.
While the results saw many familiar faces return, we also had a number of surprises as well as new entrants making waves — marking the ongoing development and evolution of the industry as changes, mergers, retrenchments and reorganizations shifted the global landscape of Islamic finance. Read on to discover who made the grade this year — and why.
Table 1: Winners of IFN Service Providers Poll 2015 |
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Award |
2015 winners |
2015 Runners-Up |
Most Outstanding Standard-Setting Body |
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Best Islamic Consultancy Firm |
Dar Al Sharia |
Amanie Advisors |
Best Takaful Provider |
Prudential BSN Takaful (Malaysia) |
Etiqa Takaful |
Best re-Takaful Provider |
MNRB Retakaful (Malaysia) |
Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Company (AMAN) |
Best Interbroker for Islamic Transactions |
Bursa Suq Al-Sila |
DDCAP |
Best Islamic Rating Agency |
RAM Ratings |
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Best Islamic Research Firm |
ISRA |
Gulf Investment House |
Best Shariah Advisory Firm |
Dar Al Sharia |
Amanie Advisors |
Best Islamic Index Provider |
S&P Dow Jones Indices |
FTSE |
Best Islamic Technology Provider |
Path Solutions |
3i Infotech |
Setting the standard
In a repeat performance from last year, the Bahrain-based AAOIFI yet again took the top spot for Most Outstanding Standard-Setting Body: winning the award for the fifth year in a row and comfortably controlling the proceedings with 49% of the vote. In a category dominated by three leading and influential players, it will come as no surprise that Malaysia’s IFSB again took second place with 33%, while the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) again came third with 19%.
AAOIFI is already supported by over 200 institutional members from over 45 countries worldwide: including central banks and regulatory authorities, financial institutions, accounting and auditing firms, and legal firms. In September 2014, AAOIFI elected a new secretary-general in the form of respected Saudi scholar and Islamic banking professional, Dr Hamed Hassan Merah — whose arrival seems to have generated a new buzz of activity for the distinguished agency.
Since his appointment, the group has issued two new Shariah standards and revised three others, with at least five more on the cards and the development of clearer guidance on Sukuk including accounting, legal, technical and tax aspects. In February this year, AAOIFI also placed all of its standards online to make them as accessible as possible to industry participants.
The 188-member IFSB has also had a busy year: preparing guidelines for Islamic capital markets products as well as for re-Takaful, stress testing and liquidity risk management in advance of Basel III; launching a database of industry indicators covering 15 countries to help size and shape the Shariah compliant finance industry; and publishing a third edition of its Islamic Financial Services Industry Stability Report.
In addition, the agency has highlighted a focus on financial inclusion in its new strategic performance plan 2016-18, preparing new guidelines and policy advice for regulatory authorities to widen the reach of Islamic banking as well as working with the Asian Development Bank to support financial inclusion in Asia. Traditionally AAOIFI has been the most international agency while IFSB dominated its home region of Asia, it is encouraging to note the growing cross-border activities and international embraces of all the leading standard-setting bodies: driving Islamic finance forward through innovation, inclusion and unrivaled industry expertise.
Advising the industry
Standards are a key framework within which the industry must operate: but these cannot be applied or adhered to without the invaluable services provided by the stalwart leaders of the consulting and advisory field.
In the category for Best Islamic Consultancy Firm, Dar Al Sharia (a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank) won yet again to take home the prize for the sixth consecutive year. In 2015, the firm extended its lead with 39% of the total vote (compared to 27% last year) with Malaysia’s Amanie Advisors again taking second place with 26%.
Despite Dar Al Sharia’s domination the field was a strong one, with multiple entrants including ISRA Consultancy (third place) along with EY, KPMG and PwC. However, the sterling performance of the stand-alone Islamic agencies, which clearly won out over the ‘Big Four’, suggests a reassuring premium placed by the industry on Shariah strength, independence and compliance.
“For the past 11 years, we have led the way in developing the leading Shariah compliant advisory services for all types of Islamic finance products and transactions in the region and around the world, and winning these awards is a strong endorsement of our efforts. It highlights our unrivaled expertise in this area and our ability to continually exceed clients’ expectations,” commented Sohail Zubairi, CEO of Dar Al Sharia.
In a double win, Dar Al Sharia also won Best Shariah Advisory Firm this year, winning 33% of the vote and taking the crown from last year’s winner Amanie Advisors, who achieved 25%. Always an exciting race, honorable mentions must also go to ISRA Consultancy and Shariyah Review Bureau, who took 24% and 18% respectively in one of the closest competitions of the year.
“We are particularly proud to win these awards on a platform like IFN because of our commitment to supporting Dubai’s ambition of becoming the hub of the global Islamic economy,” said Sohail. “With the phenomenal growth we are seeing in this space, we plan to continue to invest in further enhancing our products and services, as well as our human capital, as we look to contribute to the advancement of the Shariah compliant financial industry globally.”
Best Takaful
The Best Takaful Provider category was one of the most closely-fought in the contest, with seven firms short-listed to represent a highly competitive industry. In a reversal of last year’s results, for 2015 it was Prudential BSN Takaful that took the crown with 23% of the vote, while 2014 winner Etiqa Takaful came a close second with 19%. Last year’s second runner-up Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company took third place again with 18% while honorable mentions must also be made to Pak-Kuwait Takaful Company, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia and Takaful Ikhlas, who all achieved 10% each.
Prudential BSN Takaful has had a strong year, with new business up 56% in the first quarter and a new CEO at the helm from July. A number of new products have also been launched this year, consolidating the firm’s reputation for innovation and dynamic solutions — including a new Family Takaful plan launched in June that introduced an exciting new dimension into investment-linked propositions. The Giro Takaful Premier Plan combines protection, savings and investment under one roof, allowing its clients to fulfill long-term investment aspirations.
“This is a tremendous recognition for all of us associated with the business and we are truly honored to receive this from a strong brand such as IFN. I am thankful and proud of the collective efforts put in by our staff, agents and partners,” commented Prudential BSN Takaful CEO Aman Chowla. “Our continued focus on the execution of our key strategic initiatives has been critical to ensuring our customers are provided with peace of mind through our innovative products and services. We are constantly looking for ways to innovate and improve at all times.”
Re-Takaful surprise
The award for Best re-Takaful Provider was another hotly contested category — and may have ignited more fireworks than expected. The clear winner was MNRB Retakaful, a unit of MNRB Holdings and the first re-Takaful operator in Malaysia, with operations beginning in August 2007. The victor achieved 20% of the vote — with Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Company coming second with 17% and last year’s winner Swiss Re taking third position with 15%. The category was one of the most competitive in this year’s poll, with 11 entrants — although the top three dominated the board, accounting for over 50% of the total votes.
However, while MNRB Retakaful was the clear winner of the contest, the firm has had a less than stellar few years, with recent news suggesting that a shake-up could be on the cards. In 2014, the MNRB Retakaful Shareholders’ Fund made a loss of RM47.9 million (US$11.6 million), while the Family Retakaful Fund lost RM21.3 million (US$5.1 million) and the company overall saw a net loss of RM1.9 million (US$460,000) — slightly better than the RM13.2 million (US$3.1 million) the previous year). The only profitable pillar in 2014 was the General Retakaful Fund, which bounced back from a RM10.4 million (US$2.5 million) loss in 2013 to make a net profit of RM13.9 million (US$3.3 million) last year. In addition, in June this year Fitch Ratings withdrew their rating for MNRB Retakaful (which stood at ‘BBB+’ with a negative outlook) after the company chose to stop participating in the ratings process.
Could it be a coincidence that in April 2015, parent company MNRB Holdings received central bank approval to conduct General and Family re-Takaful business through its Malaysian Reinsurance (Malaysian Re) unit? MNRB had commented that: “The MNRB Group plans to undertake an internal restructuring exercise for its re-Takaful business, the details of which will be announced at a later date.” Malaysian Re, which already has an operation in Dubai for MENA clients as well as operating in Indonesia, and which saw total gross premiums of RM1.3 billion (US$312.64 million) in 2014 as well as announcing an expansion drive earlier this year (according to new CEO Zainudin Ishak) could be the logical choice to take over the re-Takaful business in an MNRB shake-up.
When contacted by IFN regarding the win, MNRB Retakaful requested to respectfully decline the award. While we extend our heartiest congratulations to the winners, the re-Takaful space could be an interesting one to watch in the coming months.
Broking the deal
In a shake-up from the 2014 results, the Malaysian bourse’s commodity Murabahah, Bursa Suq Al-Sila, has had a fantastic year and stormed into first place to win the award for Best Interbroker for Islamic Transactions with 28% of the vote, from its runner-up position last year.
Bursa Suq Al-Sila is a Shariah compliant commodity Murabahah trading platform which facilitates Murabahah and Tawarruq transactions, which last year saw a 77% increase in average trading volume to RM6.86 billion (US$1.66 billion). “The platform has experienced an annualized growth of 178% from 2009-14 which can be attributed to increased acceptance and demand from global participants in the MENA and Asia regions for Shariah compliant products and services,” said Jamaluddin Nor Mohamad, the director of Islamic and alternative markets at Bursa Malaysia.
“It is recognized also as a platform with the capacity to undertake commodity trading in various major currencies, made possible by the availability of a large supply of physical commodities. Bursa Malaysia believes Bursa Suq Al-Sila has the capability to further facilitate the expanding needs for Islamic financing globally.”
DDCAP came second emphasizing the increasing global competitiveness of the brokerage space. Eiger Trading took third position, while honorable mentions also go to NASDAQ Dubai and DMCC Tradeflow, both of which have been instrumental in developing the GCC market over the past year.
Rating the industry
In another reversal of last year’s results, Moody’s Investors Service shot up from third place in 2014 to win this year’s Best Islamic Rating Agency category with an impressive 41% of the vote. Former winner S&P Ratings, which in 2014 won 40% of votes, this year slid back to third place with just 15% while Malaysia’s own RAM Ratings took 22% to come second.
“I think in particular though a lot of our research shows thought leadership, often touching on some of the core issues facing the market. Our objectivity means we can sometimes comment on key issues from a very different perspective,” explained Khalid Howladar, Moody’s global head of Islamic finance. “We’ve been very active on the outreach front engaging the market head-on with our objective views. In addition, we’ve held many free educational credit and rating workshops that were well received across key Islamic markets of Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia among others.”
Researching the way
In a relatively small category with just a few key players, the winner of the Best Islamic Research Firm has swung back and forth multiple times over the years. However, in 2015 the International Shariah Research Academy (ISRA) once again took the top spot — cementing last year’s success and consolidating its leading position with a momentous 83% of total votes (compared to 62% in 2014). Kuwait Finance House came second again with 27% while Gulf Investment House took third place with 9%.
“ISRA’s achievement indicate the importance of research in Islamic finance and this will motivate us to further strengthen our research initiatives,” said Professor Dr Mohamad Akram Laldin, the executive director of ISRA.
The results highlight ISRA’s growing dominance in the research space — especially since the departure this year of one of the other leading lights of the industry, KFH Research, as it reorganizes its activities. Despite coming in second place again this year, the firm’s departure is a game-changer for the research space — leaving a gap that ISRA seems only too capable of filling.
Indexing the Islamic universe
On the indexing side, S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI) came top yet again winning the award for Best Islamic Index Provider. “We are delighted and honored to be recognized for our commitment to the Islamic finance space by this ninth consecutive award,” said Alka Banerjee, the managing director of global equity and strategy indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
“Our dedicated clientele, particularly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, motivates us to continuously provide indices with the utmost integrity, transparency and adherence to Shariah compliance principles. Our recently launched multi-asset balanced Shariah and our Shariah dividend indices are a testimony to our innovative client-driven approach.”
SPDJI won 40% of the vote this year compared to 59% last year, however: perhaps marking an increase in competition following the recent activity in the space — including the recent merger of Russell Indexes and the FTSE Group to become FTSE Russell. While Russell-IdealRatings took third place in 2014, FTSE this year took second place with 25% of the vote, reflecting a potentially strong new player in the game. Last year’s runner-up MSCI came in third this year with 19%.
Facilitating the future
And finally, the industry would be unable to function without the technology that underpins all its operations: from the most basic to the most complex. For the eighth year in a row, and nine times in total, Path Solutions took first prize for Best Islamic Technology Provider. This category was extremely close, with 20% of the vote going to the winner while joint runners-up 3i Infotech and Temenos both took 14%. Honorable mentions also go to Oracle FSS, Infosys Technologies and Silverlake Axis for providing keen competition in a strongly populated industry.
“We want to thank all those who supported our nomination. Being selected winner is a great privilege,” said Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions’ group chairman and CEO. “Our success depends, in large part, upon our ability to identify key industry trends and to anticipate and respond in a timely manner to regulatory and market demands. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to accelerate innovation by developing and implementing leading-edge Shariah compliant banking technologies that deliver more value to our clients.”
Congratulations
As always, IFN extends its most sincere admiration to all the participants in the IFN Service Providers Poll, the exceptional performance of which represents the growing strength, reach and size of the Islamic finance industry across the world. Thank you also to everyone who voted in this year’s event, making it an independent and unbiased election that truly represents the leaders of the industry as voted for by their peers. We are proud and privileged to be able to facilitate and disseminate such honors, and recognize the true forces in the field.
Out of 4,273 votes, 1,050 votes were disqualified due to irregularities leaving a total of 3,223 votes counting towards the final results.