Islamic Bank of Britain given £20m capital injection

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Islamic Bank of Britain given £20m capital injection

Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) is to gain £20m of capital from Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), a founding shareholder, when QIIB increases its stake in IBB to 80%.

The capital injection, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, will allow IBB to enhance its sales of key products, including the IBB Home Purchase Plan, an alternative to mortgages.

IBB was the first Sharia-compliant bank in the UK, and remains the sole Sharia-compliant stand-alone retail bank in Europe.

It was founded six years ago, and at the end of 2009 had customer deposits totalling £186m and a customer base approaching 50,000, with assets exceeding £3bn and annual profits of £95m.

The UK financial sector has led the Western world in the field of Islamic banking, and the fresh capital injection by QIIB is seen as a vote of confidence in the UK and its attitude towards Sharia-compliant banking.

Commercial Director Sultan Choudhury has said that the additional capital allows IBB to expand and remain a pioneer when it comes to creating new Islamic finance products for customers both within the UK and further afield.

Last year the bank was named the UK’s Best Islamic Financial Institution in the Global Finance magazine awards.