The World Islamic Banking Conference

The World Islamic Banking Conference began in 1994 and is held each year in Bahrain. The conference is the largest gathering of Islamic banking officials in the world. In 2010 the conference will be adding a second conference to encompass the Asian Islamic market.

The conference began as a way for delegates within the Islamic banking community to meet and make financial decisions. The first conference had a mere 120 delegates from around the Middle East. Today, there are expected to be more than 1200 people attending the conference scheduled for the end of the year.

Events During the Islamic Banking Conference

The gathering consists of more than speeches and idle talk. Leaders of governments and industries gather to discuss the current topics of the financial world and how, through Islamic banking practices, these issues can be addressed. Attendees are given a chance to secure closed door meetings with top executives and other VIP’s. These closed door sessions allow an interaction between persons with guaranteed privacy.

Interactive debate is encourages. Whereas many conferences just have guest speakers, the speakers at the WIBC are required to interact with the guests so that all issues can be discussed. The conference also hosts an exhibit hall where people from financial institutions all over the world can present their investment opportunities and other services to the Islamic community for approval.

The main purpose of the gathering is to connect with other bankers and reaffirm the compliance to Sharia law. Islamic banking has grown considerably since its inception in 1975, and the purpose of the conference is to make sure it remains true to its beliefs.

World Islamic Banking Conference Asia Summit

This year a second conference was held in Singapore. This first annual meeting of Islamic Banks of Asia was a gathering of financial groups that are trying to gear specific financial related industries in the Asian market toward Sharia compliance. Both the Islamic and Asian banking industries can see the benefit of forming a partnership. Asian banks that will offer financial products that comply with Sharia investment guidelines are sure to benefit from an onslaught of Islamic investors. At a time when there is a world-wide monetary crisis, the partnership seems encouraging.

Since the financial world is an ever changing industry, Islamic bankers take advantage of the conference to gather information and create strategies for the next year. Sharia law must be complied with and the bank must also remain profitable. This is often a hard act to balance, but so far the Islamic banks are doing real well.

It is currently estimated that Islamic banks could possibly hold over 4 trillion dollars in assets, an impressive figure when considering the current economic conditions around the world.