CBI Presents IFSB Performance Report

The Central Bank of Iran, as the current chairman of the Islamic Financial Services Board, presented the board’s performance report in the 31st meeting of the IFSB Council held in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, which was attended by CBI’s Vice Governor Akbar Komijani.

IFSB’s schedule and budget for 2018 as well as proposed changes regarding its corporate bylaws and financial supervisory regulations were also approved by members at the same meeting, CBI’s website reported.

“Devising technical standards and guidelines, holding educational workshops , offering technical assistance in specialized fields in member states, the continued gathering of supervisory and discretionary information of Islamic financial institutions and consequently drafting financial stability reports and devising financial, corporate and communicational reform schemes in line with minimizing costs” were identified by CBI as the most important programs of  IFSB approved for next year.

  Kuwait to Succeed Iran as IFSB Chair

During the IFSB meeting, the head of Central Bank of Kuwait was chosen to succeed the Central Bank of Iran’s governor as chairman of the international standard-setting organization for 2018.

Mohammad Yousef Al-Hashel, the governor of CBK, will take over the IFSB chairmanship from CBI Governor Valiollah Seif next year.

Fazle Kabir, governor of the Bangladesh Bank (the central bank of Bangladesh) has been named to act as IFSB deputy chairman in 2018, according to a statement published on IFSB’s website.

He will replace Komijani effective from Jan. 1, 2018.

The 31st IFSB council meeting was hosted by CBI and Bank Negara Malaysia (the central bank of Malaysia).

Chaired by Fazle Kabir, it was attended by 14 governors and deputy governors of regulatory and supervisory authorities, and 11 senior representatives from among the council and full members of IFSB, representing 18 countries and the Islamic Development Bank.

Al-Hashel has been the governor and chairman of the Board of Directors of CBK since 2012 and is the alternate governor of Kuwait at the International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund.

Kabir is the former senior secretary to the government of Bangladesh and joined as the 11th governor of Bangladesh Bank on March 20, 2016.

In a mid-December 2016 meeting, IFSB had announced the appointment of CBI governor as its chairman for 2017. The subsequent 30th meeting of the council of IFSB was held on April 6 with Komijani among keynote speakers.

  Iran-Malaysia Banking Ties

Following the IFSB meeting, CBI’s vice governor briefly spoke to IRNA in Kuala Lumpur and said, “There are not many banking problems between Iran and Malaysia and we will follow up on any odd issues that have been reported.”

According to Komijani, IFSB members present at the meeting also reviewed the results of researches and studies conducted by the secretariat of the international organization on monetary and banking standards and presented their expert opinions.

The Kuala Lumpur-based IFSB was officially inaugurated on Nov. 3, 2002, and started operations on March 10, 2003. It serves as an international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that have vested interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry, which is defined broadly to include banking, capital market and insurance.

In advancing this mission, IFSB promotes the development of an Islamic financial services industry by introducing new, or adapting existing international standards consistent with the principles of Islamic law, and recommending them for adoption.

To this end, the work of IFSB complements that of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, International Organization of Securities Commissions and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.