FRANCE - Islamic banking arriving in France in 2012

repandre.com - Islam strictly forbids usury, speculation but also the chance.

Therefore, to stay in the Islamic legitimacy, financial offices have implemented regulations compatible with the Mudaraba or Musharaka among others. The Islamic bank can then sell or lease the benefits it has in the past picked up, it takes the form of means of leasing and hire purchase. The person may pay to the other, for example through the construction of apartments (source)

SPAIN - FINANCE - Dubai's DIFC hosts seminar to strengthen economic and financial cooperation between UAE and Spain

Business Intelligence Middle East - UAE.  The Dubai International Financial Centre ("DIFC”), the financial and business hub connecting the region’s emerging markets with the developed markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas, today hosted “UAE and Spain: Economic and Financial Cooperation”, an investment conference held in association with the Madrid Centro Financiero (“MCF”). (source)

SPAIN - EDUCATION - Madrid aims to become education hub of Europe

Islamic finance and business education has flourished over the last decade or so in line with the growth of the industry. Universities, business schools, colleges and professional bodies - both in the Muslim countries and in other countries especially Europe, Singapore and the US - have introduced courses on Islamic finance purportedly helping to meet the demand for trained human capital, the dearth of which is a major bottleneck threatening the continued growth of the industry.  (source)

SPAIN - EUROPE - Saudi-Spanish Collaboration Seeks to boost Islamic finance values in Europe and beyond

Islamic finance in the European Union may be taking a back seat as the continent is gripped with a dire euro zone sovereign debt crisis which has even impacted on sovereign Germany's attractiveness as a bond investment asset class.

Similarly, London's role as a hub for Islamic finance, investment and trade - the declared ambition of the previous Labor government and the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition - is stalling because of the disappointment of the UK Treasury deciding not to raise funds in the wholesale sterling market through a debut sovereign Sukuk. Luxembourg and France have also introduced tax neutrality measures to facilitate sukuk and other Islamic financial products, but have yet to commit to issuing a debut sukuk, claiming as the UK does it is not the right timing nor at the right price. (source)

UK - BANKING - Islamic banks offer shelter in the storm ( BLME )

thenational.ae - Internationally, Islamic banking is also gaining ground as a competitive alternative.

The Financial Times last month reported that Islamic banks were providing the best returns on cash deposited for two, three, four and five years, encouraging more UK customers to put money into Sharia-compliant accounts.

Since advertising profit rates of up to 4.8 per cent on comparison sites such as moneysupermarket.com, Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME) has seen a four-fold increase in customer deposits, most of which derived from non-Muslim investors, Nigel Denison, BLME's executive director, told the Financial Times.

But there is a catch.

BLME, one of the main providers of Islamic finance in the UK and arguably the largest Islamic bank in Europe, sets a £50,000 (Dh296,265) minimum deposit. (source)

EUROPE - Growth of “Shariah-Compliant” banking in Europe

The European Union is emerging as a major centre of Islamic finance, based on Islamic Shariah law.

The spectacular growth prospects for the Islamic financial services industry in many European countries is being fuelled by Muslim mass immigration; despite a difficult economic climate on the continent, Islamic banking is growing faster in Britain, France and Germany than it is in many Islamic countries in the Middle East and Asia.

The key role that Europe is playing in establishing Islamic finance in the West was the central theme of the 8th Islamic Financial Services Board Summit, an annual conference that promotes Islamic banking around the world. Hosted by the Central Bank of Luxembourg from May 10-13, 2011, it was the first time the event was held in a European country. (source)

OPINION - EUROPE - Islamic "Shariah-Compliant" Banking Takes Root in Europe

The European Union is emerging as a major center of Islamic finance, based on Islamic Shariah law, and which critics say amounts to "financial Jihad" by Islamists intent on Islamifying the West.

The spectacular growth prospects for the Islamic financial services industry in many European countries is being fuelled by Muslim mass immigration; despite a difficult economic climate on the continent, Islamic banking is growing faster in Britain, France and Germany than it is in many Islamic countries in the Middle East and Asia.(full story)