Pak Islamic banks among top 5 institutions in region

LAHORE: As many as four leading financial institutions of Pakistan have been placed in the top five Islamic banks of the region, as per the South Asian Financial Disclosure Index rankings.
The conveners of the 22nd annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) revealed on Wednesday the ranking of South Asia’s top 5 Islamic banks rated according to their financial disclosure, subsequent to the announcement of the launch of the WIBC Leaderboard.
Pakistan-based Meezan Bank and Bangladesh-based Social Islamic Bank are positioned at the top of Islamic financial institutions in South Asia with a score 63 and 56, respectively.
They are closely followed by Bank Islami (55), Faysal Bank (55) and MCB Bank (55). More, importantly, Meezan Bank ranked 10th in the top 15 global Islamic banks.
Middle East Global Advisors, the organisers of the WIBC for the last 22 years, utilises the Financial Disclosure Index as one of the sub-indicators of the WIBC Leaderboard, an industry benchmark that will form the basis of the WIBC Performance Awards 2015.
The Ceremony for the Awards will be held at the Gala Dinner of the 22nd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference which is taking place on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd December at Gulf Hotel Bahrain.
The financial disclosure index measures the extent to which customers and stakeholders are protected through disclosure of ownership and financial information. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating more disclosure.
First in the series of the WIBC Leaderboard performance indicators, the Financial Disclosure Index chart shows the bank’s name (horizontal axis) and Financial Disclosure Index score (vertical axis) of the top 5 Islamic banks in South Asia ranked on the basis of the financial disclosure score.
Meezan Bank’s CEO, Irfan Siddiqui, spoke on Islamic Banks’ practice of disclosing financial information, stating that “Islamic banking inherently carries a high level of transparency by virtue of it being asset-based in nature. At Meezan Bank, this fundamental principle drives the ethos and shapes all our policies. Our practices of disclosure and dissemination of information are best exemplified by our Shariah Audit report that is a part of the Bank’s Annual Report and has provided the industry with the best standards to follow.”
He continues to comment on the sheer importance of these disclosures to the global financial economy: “In an effort to support the sustainability and stability of the global financial system, Islamic banks have been proactive in implementing a high-disclosure system as obvious by the disclosure scores.”
In a period of high information asymmetry where consumer interests are not wholly protected from spillovers and systemic risks, the financial disclosure index serves as an essential governance metric that can help regulators ensure that a stable and efficient banking system is in place.
Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA) is the gateway connectivity and intelligence platform to opportunities in the rapidly developing economic region that stretches all the way from Morocco in the West to Indonesia in the East - The Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia (MENASEA) connection.
We pride ourselves for being at the heart of these diverse markets for over 22 years. The World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) has established its reputation as the world’s largest and most influential gathering of international Islamic banking and finance leaders for over two decades.
With the strategic support of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the next generation WIBC will focus on transforming Islamic finance into a global proposition by facilitating strategic opportunities, addressing systematic challenges and connecting international market players and institutional investors to the industry's catalysts, thought leaders, partners and institutions.