The growth of Islamic banking and financing as an alternative financial management model is flourishing in new regions. South Africa is one of the markets which is opening up to Islamic banking and finance as the need for financial products that comply with Shariah is increasing, among both Muslims and non-Muslims. It is, thus essential that the extent to which the true benefits of Islamic banking are being realised within the South African context are examined as it is important that this practice be properly understood by its constituents and that the perceptions of Islamic banking be well managed. The purpose of this research is to study the perceptions of Islamic banking in South Africa. More specifically, the study seeks to explore the current level of awareness of the culture of Islamic banking and the criteria that shape a consumer’s banking choice. A comparative, quantitative study between Muslim and non-Muslim chartered accountants was conducted using a structured questionnaire which contained specific questions relating to perceptions, awareness and bank selection criteria. The results of the study indicate that the majority of Muslim and non-Muslim chartered accountants have a low level of knowledge about Islamic banking terms. As expected there are differences in the perceptions of Islamic banking between Muslim and non-Muslim chartered accountants with religion emerging as the primary reason for Muslims engaging with an Islamic bank. However, non-Muslims may also be attracted to this form of banking if they were more aware of its principles and methods. As regards the issue of bank selection criteria, most of the respondents were engaged in conventional banking and the provision of fast and efficient services was clearly primary importance to both Muslim and non-Muslim chartered accountants.

This research has three main purposes. First, it discusses the differences between the conventional and the Islamic perspectives of accounting in terms of the accounting definition, objectives, principles, rules, measurements and disclosure requirements. Second, it discusses and formulates the accounting measurements and the disclosure requirements, which should be applied in Islamic banks for Murabahah and Mudarabah operations.Third, to provide insight into the current practice of these measures and requirements, the study reports the results of a survey which aims at identifying the gap between the suggested measures and requirements and the current practice of the Dubai Islamic Bank and the Jordan Islamic Bank. The analysis reveals that there are differences between the conventional and the Islamic perspectives of accounting. It also indicates the need for specific accounting measures for Murabahah and Mudarabah operations as well as the need to disclose more information about these operations and their accounting measurement methods in an Islamic bank's annual reports as well as in other disclosures.Finally, the direction for future research on Islamic banks operations and their accounting measurement problems are presented / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Islamic banking and finance in Pakistan started in 1977-78 with the elimination of interest in compliance with the Principles of Islamic Shari’ah in Islamic banking practices. Since then, amendments in financial system to allow the issuance of new interest-free instrument of corporate financing, promulgation of ordinance to permit the establishment of Mudaraba companies and floatation of Mudaraba Certificates, constitution of Commission for Transformation of Financial System (CTFS), and the establishments of Islamic Banking Department by the State Bank of Pakistan are some of the key steps taken place by the governments.   The aim of this study is to examine and to evaluate the performance of the first Islamic bank in Pakistan, i.e. Meezan Bank Limited (MBL) in comparison with that of a group of 5 Pakistani conventional banks. The study evaluates performance of the Islamic bank (MBL) in profitability, liquidity, risk, and efficiency for the period of 2003-2007. Financial ratios (12 in total) such as Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Loan to Deposit ratio (LDR), Loan to Assets ratio (LAR), Debt to Equity ratio (DER), Asset Utilization (AU), and Income to Expense ratio (IER) are used to assess banking performances. T-test and F-test are used in determining the significance of the differential performance of the two groups of banks. The study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and also less efficient comparing to the average of the 5 conventional banks. However, there was no significant difference in liquidity between the two sets of banks. The reasons are due to the facts that conventional banks in Pakistan have longer history and experience in doing banking business and hold dominating position in the financial sector with its large share in the overall financial assets of Pakistan, as compared to Islamic banks, which in true sense, started only a few years back with all letter and spirit.     Albeit, the study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and less efficient during 2003-2007, however, it is improving considerably over time indicating convergence with the performance of the conventional banks.

Idag finns det många muslimer i Sverige som inte har ett alternativ vad gäller val av banker som agerar i linje med deras tro där det råder ett förbud mot ränta. Studien ämnar undersöka hur man kan marknadsföra och finansiera en islamisk bank i Sverige, vilka nyckelfaktorer som finns samt vilka som går att använda för en lyckad positionering i den svenska bankmarknaden. Vi har använt oss utav kvantitativa och kvalitativa ansatser genom primär data i form av intervjuer och en enkätstudie. Vi har kombinerat marknadsföringsteorin Value Innovation med finansieringsteorin Bootstrapping i syfte att få en undersökning som är övergripande för hela uppsatsen. Resultaten tyder på att marknadsföringen av en nyetablerad islamisk bank i Sverige bör göras med fokus på att den är i linje med islamiska principer, men även att den följer vissa etiska principer, för att bredda målgruppen till andra än muslimer. Grundfinansieringen bör skötas av utländska investerare på ett sätt som undgår de restriktioner som finns gällande inflöde av utländskt kapital. / There is currently a lack of financial alternatives for the muslim-community in Sweden regarding banks that act according to Islam and it´s rules, especially concerning the prohibition of interest. This thesis aims to find out which key factors an Islamic bank can use in order establish itself in the Swedish market through analyzing how one can finance and market an Islamic bank in Sweden. We have used quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering information that serves this study, this in terms of interviews and a survey. We have combined two different theories, the marketing theory Value innovation and a financing theory called Bootstrapping in a way that they are both implemented in order to provide the study with objectivity and clarity. The result of the thesis indicates that the marketing of an Islamic bank in Sweden should focus on the fact that it acts according to Islamic principles and rules, but at the same time contains certain ethical values so that other target groups do not get neglected. The marketing could therefore benefit from not excluding other social groups that also share the same ethical values as the muslim-community. The basic foundation of financing/ funding an Islamic bank should come from foreign investors, but in a way that it avoids or escapes the restrictions that prohibits foreign capital from entering the country.

Islamic Banking, the Shariah (Islamic law) compliant banking for Muslims, is unarguably at the nascent stage of its development as a financial competitor and alternative to the conventional interest – based banking system practiced around the world. This thesis looks into the principles of Islamic banks of Pakistan and focusing three Islamic Banks in Pakistan. The thesis analyzes the findings of three banks made by interviews and compare with the conventional banking system, to check that are the principles different or same. This thesis is qualitative in nature, based on theoretical and empirical findings.

Abstract Islamic Banking, a growing banking segment related consistent with Sharia law and principles. Since its establishment in 1983, the use of Islamic Banking has grown rapidly in Malaysia as a result of the Malaysian government active effort to make “Malaysia, Asia’s Islamic finance hub.” This study investigates the impact of various regulation changes – applicable to both conventional and Islamic Banking – in Malaysia, on the volume of financing of Islamic Banks. The main way to accommodate for possible omitted variable bias was by including control variables including the production index, real effective exchange rate, price index against the return on assets, return on equity and net income margin ratio. This study was conducted using an autoregressive-distributed lag model, and an event study. Ultimately, the abnormal returns for Islamic vs. Conventional Banks – though statistically significant individually during the event studies, on average were not statistically significant. The implication is that were the sample size to be larger, we may be able to find more statistical significance, but given that the bank population in Malaysia is so small, it is hard to find a statistically significant trend.

<p>Islamic banking and finance in Pakistan started in 1977-78 with the elimination of <em>interest</em> in compliance with the Principles of Islamic Shari’ah in Islamic banking practices. Since then, amendments in financial system to allow the issuance of new interest-free instrument of corporate financing, promulgation of ordinance to permit the establishment of Mudaraba companies and floatation of Mudaraba Certificates, constitution of Commission for Transformation of Financial System (CTFS), and the establishments of Islamic Banking Department by the State Bank of Pakistan are some of the key steps taken place by the governments.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of this study is to examine and to evaluate the performance of the first Islamic bank in Pakistan, i.e. Meezan Bank Limited (MBL) in comparison with that of a group of 5 Pakistani conventional banks. The study evaluates performance of the Islamic bank (MBL) in profitability, liquidity, risk, and efficiency for the period of 2003-2007. Financial ratios (12 in total) such as Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Loan to Deposit ratio (LDR), Loan to Assets ratio (LAR), Debt to Equity ratio (DER), Asset Utilization (AU), and Income to Expense ratio (IER) are used to assess banking performances. T-test and F-test are used in determining the significance of the differential performance of the two groups of banks. The study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and also less efficient comparing to the average of the 5 conventional banks. However, there was no significant difference in liquidity between the two sets of banks. The reasons are due to the facts that conventional banks in Pakistan have longer history and experience in doing banking business and hold dominating position in the financial sector with its large share in the overall financial assets of Pakistan, as compared to Islamic banks, which in true sense, started only a few years back with all letter and spirit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Albeit, the study found that MBL is less profitable, more solvent (less risky), and less efficient during 2003-2007, however, it is improving considerably over time indicating convergence with the performance of the conventional banks.</p>

As a result of globalization, the concept of Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) has become on the agendas of organizations over the past decade. The organizations in Kuwait are no exception; they have been striving to address and execute the best practices of CSR. The banking sector in Kuwait, which plays a pivotal role in the economy, represents an area of strong interest for anyone wanting to research the depiction of CSR in Kuwait since it was the first sector that introduced corporate social responsibility and is considered a pioneer in that field. However, no studies were found that have examined CSR policies in practice in Kuwait or in the banking sector in particular. This thesis therefore focuses on obtaining a better understanding of how corporate social responsibility works in practice in the Kuwaiti banks from the perspective of three groups: the decision makers of CSR in the Kuwaiti banks, the employees of the banks, and the banks’ customers. The researcher used a qualitative approach in which data were collected using interviews and document analysis. The collected data were interpreted and analysed and thereafter drawn the conclusion that banks are very clear in defining their CSR objectives which are aligned with their overall corporate strategy. However, there were commonalities and differences in how stakeholders understand and perceive CSR. The study also revealed that both the 2008 financial crisis and Islam influenced the way CSR is exercised in the banks, and moderately, influenced the employees and customers.

This study examines to what extent how oil movements differently affect equity returns in general and sectoral levels of the GCC countries stock markets. Modeling the equity returns volatility requires using GARCH-type models. These models help to explore the pronounced differences of the conditional variance structures across sectors and markets. Chapter 1 compares the effects of changes in oil price return and its volatility on equity returns and volatility across sectors. The findings of this chapter show that despite the GCC states dependency on oil revenues, equity market performance at the sectoral level do not exactly associate with oil movements. Our results, in particular, show that the GCC stock markets do not always move hand-in-hand with oil market movements. In chapter 2, we explore the relationship within a specific sector, i.e. Banks sector in Saudi Arabia Stock market. We examine if oil price changes affect Islamic banks differently than conventional ones. The findings show a decrease in degree of co-movement between these two types of banking system and oil market, meaning that they are less integrated. Although the Islamic banks kept a higher degree of co-movement with oil, limitations of Shari'ah restrictions on Islamic banks have little impact on the relationship between oil and those banks. Chapter 3 examines whether the level of corruption influences how oil changes affect the GCC stock markets. The findings of chapter 3 show that dissimilar levels of corruption between GCC countries have inconsiderable differences on the oil return effects on the GCC stock markets. Oil returns affect both low and high level of corruption groups. The oil return innovation affects the equity volatility for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait more than other four GCC countries.

Magister Commercii - MCom (Business and Finance) / This master's thesis report is a record of my action research study conducted at a traditional bank in South Africa. The report follows a narrative writing style. It contains my personal learnings and reflections. In it I record my practices aimed at promoting Islamic banking products of a traditional bank. In undertaking this action research, I employed interventions whereby I improved my own learning and behaviour through practice. This action research took place within the customer facing division of a national traditional bank in the Western Cape. While conducting my situational analysis, I found that front-line employees lacked knowledge and awareness about Islamic banking products, which negatively impacted their attitude and willingness to promote the Islamic banking offering. As the action research progressed, another concern was identified, namely, the lack of awareness of Islamic banking by customers. In order to guide activities that are directed at improving the behaviour of front-line employees and customers, I drew insights from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by Icek Ajzen (1991) for my theoretical framework. Observations, interviews and interview schedules were used to collect data and continuously analysed using content analysis and univariate analysis for the respective data types. Evidence was generated by measuring the data against a standard of judgments as required for an action research project. This resulted in the identification of key factors that influence front-line employees' willingness to promote the Islamic banking products. These factors were their attitudes and perceived behavioural control. It was further identified that the lack of awareness by customers had a negative impact on their attitudes towards using the Islamic banking offering. Both issues were addressed, by following the cyclical approach of action research. In order to influence front-line employees' behaviour, with the support of the necessary stakeholders, I implemented internal marketing programmes such as training and development. To increase the level of customer awareness, I implemented activities directed at external customers such as brochures and poster displays within branches. The study finds that through my ethical and political practices, front-line employees were motivated and stakeholders actively participated in planning and executing interventions designed to improve the performance of Islamic banking sales. The practices implemented by myself, as an Islamic banking product champion, were identified as a key influence in the promotion of Islamic banking. I also identified that senior management and middle management influenced front-line employees' acceptance and implementation of internal marketing practices.