I. Abstract

Is Islamic Finance really the value proposition it claims to be? Assessment and Opportunities

A number of eminent bankers, including humble writers like myself, have proposed that Islamic finance is a cure to the contemporary economic ills plaguing the western financial systems. While there may be some truth behind these anecdotal claims, no one has really assessed and discussed whether this system is really the antidote for the world that it claims to be. The purpose of this seminar is to assess how far we have progressed as a system of financial intermediation and whether we really offer a value proposition. If we do offer a value proposition, what are the essential attributes that we should communicate to the mass of the under-banked Muslim to convince them that we do? On the other hand, if we don’t currently offer a value proposition, what will it take to transform Islamic finance into a strategically differentiated value proposition?

Dr. Sayd Farook (Phd LLB B.Bus (Hons) CIPA) is responsible for Structuring and Legal at Dar Al Istithmar and is a Research Advisor to Oxford Islamic Finance.

Prior to joining Dar Al-Istithmar/Oxford Islamic Finance, Sayd was the Research and Development Manager at the Center for Islamic Finance at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). He was responsible for conceptualising and executing the Center’s growth strategy, which involved developing the Center’s complete intellectual infrastructure. In addition, he provided consulting and policy advice to financial institutions and Islamic Finance infrastructure bodies and delivered courses on Islamic Finance.

Sayd conducts extensive empirical and analytical research on matters relating to Islamic Finance Governance, Product Development and Structuring, Risk Management, Financial Economics and Social Responsibility. His papers are widely published in peer-reviewed journals, magazines and as chapters in edited books. Sayd is also on the international editorial board of the Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research (Emerald Insight). He has also been invited to present his research and views at a number of renowned international gatherings on Islamic Finance. Sayd is a Governance Standard consultant for the AAOIFI and delivers their CIPA qualification.

Sayd earned his Doctorate (Islamic Finance), Bachelors of Laws (LLB), Business (B.Bus) with First Class Honours from the University of Technology, Sydney, and is a Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA). During his doctorate studies, Sayd was also a Finance and Accounting lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and at the Australian Catholic University with which he gained significant consulting experience in equities valuation for corporates. Prior to undertaking his doctorate, Sayd was employed by the Internal Audit and Finance Departments, HSBC, where he conducted extensive business operations auditing and financial control functions.