Balls reiterates Islamic financing support

Tue, 17 Apr 2007

Economic secretary to the Treasury Ed Balls has reaffirmed the government's commitment towards supporting Islamic financing options.

This week, Mr Balls hosted an Islamic financing summit at Downing Street that was attended by several high-profile members of the UK's Muslim communities.

And the country leads the way in terms of its liberal attitude towards faith-based financial services, he suggested after the event.

"The UK is at the forefront of developments in Islamic finance," he said.

"I am keen to capitalise on the momentum gained in [the] Budget 2007 by listening to the industry and ensuring that the government takes every opportunity to promote innovation."

Last month, chancellor Gordon Brown revealed to parliament the details of his eleventh Budget since the Labour party assumed power.

One element of the Budget was that it introduced new measures for asset-backed trust certificates that are compliant with sharia law, more commonly known as sukuk.

Following on from this, the Financial Services Authority also introduced new regulations for the housing market, which may be of interest to Islamic banking customers considering taking out a mortgage for a new home.

The move prompted Keith Leach, head of Islamic financing brand alburaq at Arab Banking Corporation International Bank, to suggest that Islamic financing options are becoming increasingly mainstream.

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