The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, have signed a deal for a joint project to establish the first-of-its kind Islamic financial industry data repository.

 

The online repository, to be named the ‘Islamic Financial Industry Intelligence (IFII)’, is aimed to be a one-stop shop for comprehensive and reliable Islamic financial and non-financial data and information, said a statement.

 

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the IDB Group headquarters in Jeddah by professor Mohamed Azmi Omar, IRTI director general and Abdelilah Belatik, CIBAFI secretary general.

 

IFII would comprise several integrated databases covering all the components of the Islamic finance industry—including banking, insurance, and social finance. In the first phase, the system will take off with a database of Islamic banking information.

 

IRTI and CIBAFI resolved to co-operate on this project in order to fill a vacuum created by the absence of co-located timely, reliable and comprehensive data on all aspects of Islamic finance.

 

IFII is expected to be a vital resource for Islamic financial institutions, policymakers, regulatory authorities, industry professionals, academics, scholars, and other stakeholders. IFII will come with state-of-the-art built-in features to allow for report generation, data visualization, and download of financial datasets.

 

“This repository would make it easy for industry operators to get credible information to do their businesses; while academics and students would easily get the information they need to produce high-quality research in their efforts of advancing knowledge in Islamic economics, banking and finance,” said Omar.

 

“The partnership with IRTI will strengthen CIBAFI’s role as the ‘voice’ of the industry and advocate for the Islamic financial services industry with other international organizations, international standard-setting organizations and regulatory and supervisory authorities, as well as support its strategic objectives. IFII would be of immense benefit to CIBAFI and its members as well as industry stakeholders at large,” Belatik added. - TradeArabia News Service