Aarij Wasti and Peter Hodgins explore the continued debate around regulatory frameworks for Islamic financial institutions, and discuss whether conventional financial institutions should be allowed to operate Islamic branches and windows.
Islamic finance has continued to expand globally, including in the GCC, over the last few years. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) estimated in its latest report that Islamic banking industry assets in the GCC reached US$314 billion by the end of 2011, representing about 19% of the total assets of GCC banks. The IIF also estimated that assets of Islamic banks globally amount to US$1.6 trillion.
