Sunday 1 November 2009

Islamic banks' assets soar 66% to $580bn in 2008

The combined assets of Islamic banks jumped by nearly 66 per cent at the end of 2008 despite massive losses suffered by the global banking sector because of the economic crisis, according to a an Arab banking group.

From around $350 billion (Dh1.2 trillion) at the end of 2007, the total assets of the world's largest full fledged Islamic banks surged to around $580bn at the end of 2008, an increase of nearly 66 per cent, the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB) said in its monthly magazine, the Arab Banker.

"Despite the financial turmoil that crippled so many Western conventional financial institutions, Islamic bank have continued to grow in prominence and size," the magazine said, citing estimates by the Asian Banker Research.

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