Enhancing transparency on Islamic banking

Dr Issa Zaki

KUWAIT: In order to ensure transparency in dealing with its customers, especially with regard to the Islamic sharia opinions (fatwas), the bases of its banking operations as a leading banking institution committed to the teachings of Islam, Warba Bank issued the Fatwas second edition of its sharia Supervisory Board. The new edition includes fatwas issued by the bank's sharia supervisory board from 2011 to 2016, on which all the Bank's banking operations are based. Through this second edition, Warba Bank aims to familiarize the public, in general, and its customers, in particular, with the Islamic principles on which all its banking operations are built, based on the latest Islamic sharia opinions envisaged by the Bank's sharia supervisory board. Those Fatwas are complied, adopted and implemented by all the concerned departments at the Bank all of which provide close cooperation in this regard. In this context, the Chairman of Warba Bank's sharia supervisory board Dr Issa Zaki, affirmed that the issuance of the new edition reinforces the Bank's pivotal role in spreading knowledge about Islamic financial transactions in Kuwaiti community and customers, especially as Warba Bank is an Islamic banking institution committed to spreading Islamic banking awareness in line with the Islamic sharia. As for the process of compiling and arranging Fatwas in one volume, Dr Zaki explained that Warba Bank's sharia Control Unit has been keen on collecting Fatwas from the minutes of the meetings of the sharia supervisory board, and classifying them by subject so as to make it easier for the readers to find the Fatwas they need. The new edition is a useful and informative reference for readers. It serves as a useful contribution to providing guidance in terms of the business of Islamic financial institutions.

It is worth mentioning that since its establishment, Warba Bank has been keen on promoting Islamic banking culture and educating Kuwaiti community on the Bank's sharia-compliant business and operations thus Warba Bank has strong footprint as a trusted institution in the Islamic banking industry.

Warba Bank was established by virtue of an Amiri Decree. On April 5, 2010, it was officially registered in the Islamic banking register of the Central Bank of Kuwait.