ISLAMIC (MICRO)FINANCE

from this have arguably been more pronounced in other banks with investments or board
members from Al-Rajhi. 53
Islamic Development Bank (see Section 3.4): Founded
in 1973, IsDB is the word’s largest multilateral,
primarily Arab-funded financial institution. IsDB
negotiates national, religious, and cultural differences
as it provides Shari’a compliant investment funds and
develops Islamic financial products to meet the diverse
needs of its 56 member countries (many of which have
large or majority non-Muslim populations) across Asia,
Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. IsDB also
provides extensive assistance to Muslim communities
in over 70 non-member countries, managed through
its Special Assistance Operations. IsDB maintains a
low public profile, and up until recently has been
deeply centralized. But in recent years, its four
regional offices have received greater autonomy for
project implementation, and five more “Gateway
Offices” are opening.
Member countries contribute through waqf donations
of cash or property, rather than annual donations or
Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia dues. Major shareholders can be major borrowers, e.g.
Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. IsDB also has significant
investments in wealthy GCC countries. IsDB has traditionally invested in large-scale infrastructure
projects. Only in the past few years has IsDB tentatively expanded social development work;
resources for this remain small and largely grant-based. 54
SUDAN
Bank of Khartoum: BOK is the largest and longest-running bank in Sudan, although its Islamic
financial history is recent: BOK was privatized in 2002 with Dubai Islamic Bank owning a
controlling share. In 2008, BOK merged with a year-old Islamic bank established by IsDB, Sharjah
Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. Since then, BOK has earned numerous awards as a
leading African Islamic bank.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Dubai Islamic Bank: DIB, launched in 1975, is the flagship institution of the modern IBF industry.
It continues to be an industry leader, and in 2014 was the third largest Islamic bank, with assets of
about 33.7 billion USD. 55 Dubai has particularly robust competition among IBFIs, and part of
53 In an August 2012 press release, IBBL vociferously disagreed with a U.S. Congressional assessment of them as a
bank linked to terrorist financing activity, due to their engagement with Al-Rajhi (at that time, institutions and
individuals associated with Al-Rajhi held a 27.51% share of IBBL). This association is also a cause of frequent
criticism from Bangladesh’s current secular government, as evidence of Saudi-based foreign interference in
Bangladeshi affairs.
54 Many thanks to the numerous individuals at the Islamic Development Bank who generously gave their time for
interviews in Jeddah in March 2015.
55 Kassem 2015
ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE: CONTEXT, CULTURE, PROMISES, CHALLENGES | www.gatesfoundation.org 13