London leading the Islamic banking

London is actively promoting Islamic banking as more and more financial institutions are fitting their rules and policy according to the Muslim faith. Until last year's opening of the first Britain-based stand alone specialist financial institution - the Islamic Bank of Britain - Muslims were able to access Saria'h-compliant current account facilities only through Middle Eastern banks with branches in Britain.

The Islamic Bank opened its fifth branch in the heart of London in July and plans to open three more by the end of this year. The growth is phenomenal in terms of its market size.

Lloyds TSB, another High Street bank, has offered no interest or overdraft facilities to comply with Shari'h. To play ahead, Lloyds TSB now plans to make Islamic banking "mainstream" too.

It's not only the High Street Banks; Islamic products are now available online trough halalmortgages.com. Even the financial brokers are offering Shari'h complaint mortgages.  "Our research shows that over three-quarters of British Muslims want banking services that fit in with their faith," affirmed Gordon Rankins of Lloyds TSB.
The Muslim Council of Britain's Mosque and Community Affairs committee (MCB) chairman Ibrahim Mogra agreed that many of Britain's two million Muslims have had little choice, but to use interest-paying accounts. But things are changing quickly.

Despite it advances, Islamic world only accounts for 7% of the global trade despite controlling 60% of the world's total resources.

Reference:
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