Friday Bulletin—First Community Bank has become the first Islamic bank in the East African region to be admitted as a member of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) headquartered in Malaysia.
The IFSB is an international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that ensures the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry. It is actively involved in the promotion of awareness of issues that have an impact on the regulation and supervision of the Islamic financial services industry.
“The admission is a great honour to the entire Islamic community in Kenya as it confirms our commitment to Islamic Finance,” said Omar Sheikh, the FCB general manager.
The membership will further enhance the bank’s financial services to global standards and it is expected to gain from personnel development training facilitated by IFSB in developing the Islamic financial services.
“The bank will take advantage of research and surveys undertaken by IFSB on the Islamic financial services industry which will inform product development and enhance the product offering. IFSB will engage the regulators on behalf of FCB to initiate requisite changes for a conducive legal and regulatory environment,” Omar added.
Last year, the bank was among global financial instititutions that participated in the IFSB international summit Mauritius.
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) brings together more than 180 Islamic financial institutions across the globe.
