Ethica Enters Saudi Arabian Islamic Finance Market

18/02/2014 12:55 AST

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest Islamic banking market, with total assets estimated at $217 billion by Thomson Reuters, yet the giant remains largely impenetrable by those outside the vast country. Today Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, the Dubai-based Islamic finance training and certification institute, announced a partnership with the International Society for Trainers and Developers (ISTD) to deliver Islamic finance training in Saudi Arabia.

Through Ethica and ISTD, Saudi learners now get AAOIFI-compliant training in rapid 4-month programs, delivered online or face-to-face. AAOIFI is the Islamic finance industry’s leading standard-setting body. The partnership also sets the foundation for face to face training at financial institutions in Saudi Arabia where ISTD has built strong relationships.

Elie Shaaya, CEO and co-founder of ISTD, said, “The International Society for Trainers and Developers believes that a certificate that does not add value to performance is of little consequence. Ethica Institute perfectly answers our concern. I am certain that our partnership with Ethica will not only be a success in the business sense but will also better meet our social responsibility.”

Ethica’s spokesperson said, “We are delighted to partner with ISTD to serve the world’s largest Islamic banking market. Previously, what Saudi Arabia often lacked in training it made up for in size. Now with online training from Ethica, it is possible to rapidly train an entire generation of practitioners in global recognized standardized training.”

According to Thomson Reuters’ Islamic Finance Development Indicator, Saudi Arabia scores well in Islamic finance awareness but lags in governance, particularly with respect to dedicated regulations for Islamic financial institutions. Those close to the new partnership say that standardized training hopes to go some way into addressing the lack of Islamic financial regulation as banks take on training programs that emphasize global Shariah standards.

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