The (P)GCC Islamic banking profit pool crossed $12 billion mark for the first time in 2014 with expectations that the sector will continue to grow amid regional economic uncertainty, TradeArabia reported. Nine core markets are currently the growth engines for the global Islamic finance industry, added the World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 from Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm. The report identifies a group of 40 banks across these nine core markets that are systemically important to the future progress of the industry. Out of the 40 banks, over 50% have an equity base of $1 billion or more. The key strategic insights highlighted at a press conference hosted Sunday by the World Islamic Banking Conference and EY to discuss the key strategic imperatives for the industry at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain. The full year’s report will be developed by EY’s award-winning Global Islamic Banking Center and exclusively launched at WIBC 2015 on December 2.
