March 30th, 2015
Meezan Bank recently collaborated with Banque Centrale De Djibouti (Central Bank of Djibouti) and Islamic Development Bank’s research wing (IRTI) to conduct a workshop on Transparency, Disclosures & Governance in Islamic banking for the Central Bank of Djibouti in Djibouti, Africa. Inaugurated by the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ahmed Osman, the program was aimed at building Islamic Banking capacity within the industry and was attended by participants from both the local Islamic and conventional banking industries, including senior officials of the central bank. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Head, Product Development & Shari’ah Compliance at Meezan Bank and Dr. Dawood Ashraf from IRTI, IDB’s research division.
Meezan Bank was approached by Islamic Development Bank to jointly conduct this exercise due to Meezan Bank’s strong research and development capability, which is considered as one of the largest research setups in the Islamic banking world with over 30 dedicated team members comprising of experienced banking professionals and Shariah scholars.
With almost 90% of the population of Djibouti being Muslim, its Islamic Banking Industry has doubled since its inception 5 years ago. In a recent interview, Central bank Governor of Djibouti Mr. Ahmed Osman said that banking penetration had risen from 10 percent of the population six years ago to 17 or 18 percent today. He further mentioned that there is significant potential for Islamic Banking in Djibouti since the vast majority of the population is Muslim and conventional banks are not considered an attractive option due to religious reasons.
Meezan Bank, the 8th largest bank in Pakistan in terms of branch network provides a complete range of Islamic banking products and services through a retail banking network of over 429 branches in 117 cities, supported by a countrywide network of 350 ATMs, Visa debit cards, a 24/7 Call Center and internet banking facility.
Meezan Bank has been consistently recognized as the Best Islamic Bank in Pakistan by numerous local and international institutions including Islamic Finance News – Malaysia, Global Finance magazine, New York, Asset AAA – Hong Kong and CFA Association – Pakistan. The JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited, an affiliate of Japan Credit Rating Agency, Japan has recently upgraded the long-term rating to AA (Double A) and short term rating at A1+ (A One Plus), the highest standard in short term rating, with stable outlook which highlights sound performance indicators of the Bank.
From left to right: Dr. Dawood Ashraf from IRTI – IDB, H.E Ahmed Osman from Banque Centrale De Djibouti, Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui from Meezan Bank, Mr. Ousmane Seck from IRTI –IDB and a member of the Banque Centrale De Dijbouti team.