UK Encouraging Banks to Offer Sharia Compliant Services

[rickjump1 0]

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/uk-encouraging-banks-to-offer-sharia-compliant-services-we-want-to-be-the-leading-islamic-finance-se.html I wonder if this includes a separate entrance for women like the British Bank of the Middle East had in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[ryoder 1,590]

WTF?

Sharia:
- prohibits paying interest. (No interest on savings accounts, or on loans).
- prohibits fees.
- prohibits investing in companies that produce goods/services. (No business loans).
- Requires Muslim clerics on the board.

So how could an existing bank possibly make those changes, and still remain profitable?

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[weekender 0]

ryoder

WTF?

Sharia:
- prohibits paying interest. (No interest on savings accounts, or on loans).
- prohibits fees.
- prohibits investing in companies that produce goods/services. (No business loans).
- Requires Muslim clerics on the board.

So how could an existing bank possibly make those changes, and still remain profitable?

the products are structured in a way that are Sharia compliant but still profitable for the bank. Wikipedia does a good job of explaining it. Basically, they just create a product that makes their conscience and the Mullahs sleep at night yet still get what they want.

it reminds me of Amish people not having phones in their home but in the barn for business. They get what they need to live in a modern world but still feel they are not violating their faith.

Seems silly to me but the customer is always right.

"The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird."
John Frusciante

[Skyrad 0]

Nothing new we've had Sharia banks in the UK for decades. Business is business.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[kelpdiver 2]

ryoder

WTF?

Sharia:
- prohibits paying interest. (No interest on savings accounts, or on loans).
- prohibits fees.
- prohibits investing in companies that produce goods/services. (No business loans).
- Requires Muslim clerics on the board.

So how could an existing bank possibly make those changes, and still remain profitable?

As Weekender wrote, it's almost a shell game to make it compliant. In the US, people seeking mortgages that comply may need to go to a group of investors. Black market or underground financing isn't quite the right word for it, but it's outside the normal sphere. I think the UK's motivation here is to direct these sort of financial transactions back to the monitored, taxable, regulated industry. And certainly they'd prefer the monies to stay within the country's borders, rather than to the Middle East.

[Andy9o8 2]

Hmm. Doesn't seem quite kosher.

[Skyrad 0]

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca