UK - Islamic bank of Brittain launches the UK's only Shariah compliant retail discretionary portfolio service (DPS)

Based on Prmiums DPS Select service, Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) will ensure the Shari'ah compliance of the discretionary investment services to investors based both in the UK and overseas. This follows IBBs announcement of a $31.5 million capital injection from Qatar International Islamic Bank. (source)

FRANCE - Finding a Home for Islamic Finance in France

In February 2008, when France's economy minister, Christine Lagarde, announced that making her country more open to Islamic finance was to become a top priority, she threw down the gauntlet to her neighbors across the English Channel -- the United Kingdom is the largest Islamic finance market in Europe, holding roughly US$19 billion in Islamic financial assets, according to Bloomberg. Since Lagarde's declaration, economic policy has been changing in France to help Islamic finance find a foothold in the country. The Ministry of the Economy appointed an Islamic finance specialist, Thierry Dissaux, last year to create a legal route allowing financial instruments based on Islamic law, known as shariah.

UK - Gatehouse nimble in picking up business

Gatehouse Bank plc, one of five standalone Islamic banks in the UK, says the industry is starting to benefit from the 2008 financial meltdown of conventional banks.
The London-based wholesale investment bank's business has picked up across all segments, particularly over the last six months, its chief executive officer Richard Thomas told Business Times.

While people were more receptive to Islamic finance in the wake of the 2008 crisis, it took time for that interest to translate into actual transactions, he said.

"I'm now taking business from conventional banks because I'm more nimble and have a different business model. We're not part of that mega-debt culture," Thomas said in an interview on the sidelines of the Global Islamic Finance Forum in Kuala Lumpur this week.