Malaysia-based Council of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has approved the admission of seven organisations for IFSB membership including the Central Bank of Iraq which has been made a full member.

IFSB serves as an international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that have vested interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry, which is defined broadly to include banking, capital market and insurance.

The additions include five supervisory authorities as full and associate members, one financial institution and one industry association as observer members, said a statement from IFSB.
 
The 29th meeting of the IFSB Council, hosted by the Central Bank of Egypt, was chaired by Central Bank of Egypt governor Tarek Amer, in Cairo, Egypt.

It was attended by 11 central bank governors and deputy governors of regulatory and supervisory authorities, and nine senior representatives from among the council and full members of the IFSB, representing 14 countries, and the Islamic Development Bank.

The newly admitted members are:

Full members:
1. Central Bank of Iraq.
2. Central Bank of Mauritania.
 
Associate members:
3. Capital Markets Authority, Kenya.
4. Under secretariat of Treasury, The Republic of Turkey.
5. Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF), West African Monetary Union.
 
Observer members:
6. Dahabshil Bank International, Somalia.
7. Turkish Capital Markets Association, The Republic of Turkey.
 
The membership of the IFSB is divided into three categories, namely full member, associate member and observer member, said a statement.

The full membership, which is the sole membership with voting rights, is available to the financial sector supervisory authorities of each sovereign country, it said.
 
To date, the 188 members of the IFSB consist of 70 supervisory and regulatory authorities from the banking, capital markets and Islamic insurance (takaful) sectors from 57 jurisdictions, as well as eight international inter-governmental organisations, and 110 market players (financial institutions, professional firms and industry associations), it stated. – TradeArabia News Service