Bank opens the door to Europe

Bank opens the door to Europe

By David Oakley, Capital Markets Correspondent

Published: May 7 2008 18:09 | Last updated: May 7 2008 18:09

At first glance, the launch of a bank in London last July – one month before the most severe credit squeeze in decades – looks like poor timing.

But the Bank of London and the Middle East is not an ordinary bank – it deals in Islamic finance, a corner of the British market that is still growing strongly, in contrast to the sharp contraction in the conventional financial sector, which has recorded billions of dollars in losses since the summer.

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Beirut school targets growing bank sector

By Ferry Biedermann in Beirut

Published: May 7 2008 18:09 | Last updated: May 7 2008 18:09

Lebanon’s École Superieure des Affaires is about to launch what it says is the first executive masters degree in Islamic finance management. It is eyeing the opportunities presented by the rapid growth of the Islamic banking industry.

The full masters degree follows the creation of an Islamic finance qualification, which it set up with the UK’s Securities and Investment Institute in 2006.