The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has announced the theme of the 12th IFSB Summit, namely, “Core Principles for Islamic Finance: Integrating with the Global Regulatory Framework”. This 12th edition of the Summit, hosted by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, will be held on 19-21 May 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The theme of the 12th IFSB Summit recognises that while there are significant benefits to Islamic finance from the processes of growth and international integration that is underway, there are corresponding challenges in building up the regulatory, supervisory and surveillance capabilities to contain vulnerability to cross-border volatility and contagion. In particular, many regulatory authorities involved in the regulation and supervision of the Islamic financial services industry face challenges in identifying the applicable principles and benchmarks for assessing the gaps in their existing structures.
The proposed Core Principles for Islamic Finance Regulation fill this gap and represent an advanced approach to the assessment of regulatory and supervisory regimes that target stability in a manner that is benchmarked against the new global regulatory architecture. More specifically, in the context of the sustained growth of Islamic finance, and its increasing integration into the global economic system, a set of opportunities and challenges to its further prospects require a consistent, cross-national framework for evaluating its stability and resilience in the form of Core Principles for various sectors.
The Summit will address the role of this development in enhancing the regulatory consistency and resilience of the Islamic financial services industry as well as enabling the necessary frameworks and pre-conditions for the assessment of regulatory and supervisory regimes.
Platform for dialogue
The important changes taking place in the global regulatory architecture provide the setting for Islamic finance to play a stronger role in real sector development and in facilitating cross-border integration. With regional and international hubs for Islamic finance being discussed and planned across advanced jurisdictions and emerging markets alike, the Summit will provide an environment that supports greater dialogue amongst key players on this important set of issues.
The Summit will also provide a platform for experiences to be shared related to the challenges faced, by both regulatory authorities and financial institutions, in adopting the new Basel capital and regulatory frameworks, along with the progress towards the adoption of the IFSB’s related recent standards on stress testing, liquidity management and the revisions to the capital adequacy standard.
Some of the topics that will be discussed during the Summit are:
• Global overview of the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI): trends and policy developments;
• New regulatory developments and the impact on the IFSI;
• Role of the core principles for Islamic finance in enhancing regulatory consistency and resilience of the industry; and
• Enabling framework for the assessment of regulatory and supervisory regimes.
There will also be a panel discussion on “The New Silk Road: The Importance of Regulatory Cooperation for Cross-Border Integration”.
This 12th Summit aims to bring together experienced international chairpersons and speakers to discuss pertinent issues in the IFSI attracting participants from all sectors of the financial services industry across the globe. Participants of previous Summits have included key players of the global industry, especially members of the IFSB from among regulatory and supervisory authorities, international inter-governmental organisations, market players and distinguished thought leaders.
For more information on the 12th Summit and to register, visit the IFSB website at www.ifsb.org.