Pilot testing of Islamic banking started in Tatarstan on September 1
In addition to Tatarstan, four constituent entities of the Russian Federation will take part in the experiment: Dagestan, Chechnya, and Bashkiria. The pilot’s term is two years. Based on the results of the experiment, a decision will be made to distribute partnership financing in other regions of the country.
“One of the directions of the experiment will be to use the potential of the halal industry. Another is to increase the level of financial literacy among the population,” says the official telegram channel of the community of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The key feature of Islamic banking is the sharing of risks on all sides of financial relations, as well as the refusal of interest income and financing of haram sectors of the economy.
You can be confident that a financial product is halal provided that it is prepared and approved by competent specialists in Islamic law and economics, and its implementation is controlled by Sharia experts. In Tatarstan, compliance with halal Islamic finance standards will be controlled by The Muslim Religious Board of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“In our country, such a certifying and monitoring body is the Council of Ulema,” Mufti Kamil Hazrat Samigullin emphasized in his speech at the briefing.
As for the participating banks, as reported by Izvestia, Sber is planning its participation in the experiment: halal financial products will be presented in pilot territories in the bank’s flagship offices and subsidiaries. Sovcombank is also studying the opportunities that the law offers in terms of investment products and is exploring options for providing such services.
Let us recall that the bill on Islamic (affiliate) banking was adopted by the State Duma on July 19 of this year. On August 23, The Muslim Religious Board of the Republic of Tatarstan discussed a plan for implementing an experiment on Islamic banking, and on August 29, a briefing on Islamic finance issues was held at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Press service of the Halal Standard Committee
Photo: Vladimir Vasiliev / Tatar-inform