Endowment fund announced

KARACHI: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain has expressed the hope that the Shariah-compliant lenders would grab half of the share of the banking industry, in future, a statement said on Tuesday.

“I desire to see the market share of Islamic banking industry to grow to 50 percent of the total banking industry,” Husain said at a lunch with academics and senior bankers at the Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CEIF) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) on Sunday.

The latest central bank data gives Islamic banks market share of 12.9 percent and 14.8 percent of total banking assets and deposits.

Dr Husain, who is also a chairman of CEIF, also announced the endowment fund for the centre and urged everyone to contribute and take it as an investment that would reap benefits in the near future. Jameel Ahmad, deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, highlighted Husain’s contribution in transformation of the State Bank. He appreciated his clarity of vision and sense of focus.