The IFSB to Organise Online Regulatory and Supervisory Authorities Forum on Covid-19

24 July 2020, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The IFSB is continuing its thematic Covid-19 topic after the success of its online Executive Programme which was held recently. This time, an online forum for regulatory and supervisory authorities themed, “Covid-19 and the Islamic Financial Services Industry: Policy Implications and Regulatory Challenges” will be held on 28 July 2020 (15:00 MYT).

The outbreak of Covid-19 and the ensuing geographical lockdowns and movement restrictions in several jurisdictions have led governments and regulatory and supervisory authorities (RSAs) to introduce measures, conventional and non-conventional, to alleviate the resulting financial and economic impact on consumers as well as financial institutions. Policy responses targeted to the financial sector varied with the type of stress, structure of the financial system and resilience of its significant players.

The IFSB as the global prudential standard-setter for Islamic finance, aims to provide a platform for its RSA members to explore and discuss the effectiveness of various policy interventions introduced to counter the (Islamic) financial-sector implications of COVID-19. The forum also aims to facilitate sharing of policy implementation experiences across jurisdictions, discuss their potential long-term impact on financial markets and institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS) and identify areas that may require further concern and coordination by the IFSB.

The objectives of the Forum are:

• To explore the effectiveness, implementation and challenges of international prudential and other financial policy measures (both conventional and Islamic) in response to COVID-19.
• To deliberate on the potential medium-term and long-term consequences for IIFS, financial markets and consumers.
• To identify any Islamic finance specific-issues that have emerged or are likely to emerge in the future due to the direct impact of the pandemic or as a consequence of policy actions taken to mitigate the impact of the crisis.
• To share of policy implementation experiences across jurisdictions and identify policy areas that require further coordination and provision of guidance for the global Islamic financial services industry with regard to the impact of the pandemic, and
• To Identify potential areas for future IFSB standards and research

Regulatory and supervisory authorities from among IFSB members are encouraged to participate in this online Forum. Interested participants are invited to register at https://www.ifsb.org/event_detail.php?e_id=451. Please contact Nirvana Jalil Ghani ([email protected]) for further information or visit our website https://www.ifsb.org/