Central Bank of Bahrain to Host the IFSB Council Meeting, General Assembly and Side Events 2012

Central Bank of Bahrain to Host the IFSB Council Meeting, General Assembly and Side Events 2012

Kuala Lumpur, 15 March 2012 – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) will be organising two events in conjunction with its Annual Meetings and Side Events 2012. The meetings and events are scheduled to be held on 28 and 29 March 2012 in Manama, Bahrain, hosted by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The two events on 28 March 2012 are open all members of the IFSB and the public. They are: 1) Seminar on Hedging and Credit Enhancement in Islamic Finance, jointly organised by the IFSB and the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM); and 2) 5th IFSB Public Lecture on Financial Policy and Stability. The 20th Meeting of the IFSB Council, the 10th General Assembly and the 4th Islamic Financial Stability Forum, which will be held on the 29 March 2012, are only open for IFSB member organisations.

1. IFSB-IIFM Seminar on Hedging and Credit Enhancement in Islamic Finance

The Seminar aims to highlight the recent developments in hedging practices in the Islamic financial services industry, including the available Sharī`ah-compliant hedging tools, their structures, risks and underlying contracts used and how they are applied in Islamic finance, particularly within Islamic capital markets. Among the topics that will be discussed in the Seminar are:

• Credit Enhancement in Islamic Capital Markets Products and Services;
• Overview of Sharī`ah-Compliant Alternative Instruments to Hedging Mechanism; and
• Regulatory, Legal and Sharī`ah Issues in Sharī`ah-Compliant Alternatives to Hedging and Collateralisation.

Among confirmed chairpersons and speakers participating in the Seminar are:

• Mr. Habib Motani, Partner of Clifford Chance LLP, United Kingdom
• Mr. Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of IIFM, Bahrain
• Mr. Lilian Le Falher, Executive Manager – Treasury, FI’s, DCM & Asset Management, Kuwait Finance House, Bahrain
• Mr. Mark Pritchard, Vice President, Head of Islamic Products Institutional Coverage Financial Markets Division, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Mr. Mehdi Boulfoul, Head of Structured Solutions, Treasury Division, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, UAE
• Dr. Mohammed Burhan Arbouna, Executive VP, Head of Shariah Compliance, Al Salam Bank, Bahrain
• Mr. Naveed Khan, Managing Director of ABC Islamic Bank, Bahrain
• Dr. Peter M Werner, Senior Director, International Swaps & Derivative Association, United Kingdom
• Mr. Saad Rahman, the Executive Director-Islamic Finance of Credit Agricole CIB, Bahrain
• Ms. Sabeen Saleem, Acting Chief Executive Officer of International Islamic Rating Agency, Bahrain, and
• Dr. Salah Addeen A. Qadar Saeed, General Manager of Credit & Risk Management, Bahrain Islamic Bank, Bahrain

2. 5th Public Lecture on Financial Policy and Stability

This fifth IFSB Public Lecture on Financial Policy and Stability, which will be chaired by H.E. Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and Chairman of IFSB Council, is themed “Islamic Capital Markets and Takāful (Islamic Insurance)”. Professor Dr. Vedat Akgiray, the Chairman of the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, will be delivering a paper on Building Resilient Islamic Financial Systems – Securities Market Regulations. Dr. Khaled Al Fakih, the Secretary-General of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will present a paper on Building Resilient Islamic Financial Systems – Insurance/Takaful Regulations.

The IFSB is inviting all its member organisations to participate in the Seminar and the Public Lecture, which is also open to the financial community in Bahrain and neighbouring countries.

Participation is free of charge. The full programme of the events and online registration forms are available at the IFSB website, www.ifsb.org.