Global: Takaful assets account for 1% of global Islamic financial assets
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Dec 2021
Islamic finance has achieved notable growth in recent years driven mainly by the significant increase in the size of Islamic banking sector, according to the 15th summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), held in Saudi Arabia last month.“The Islamic financial industry has witnessed remarkable developments globally to reach about $2.7tn over the past year from about $2.44tn in 2019,” said Saudi Central Bank governor Fahad Al-Mubarak, at the opening of the summit.
Eighty percent of these assets are concentrated in banks, 15% in the form of Islamic sukuk, 4% in Islamic investment funds and 1% in takaful.
Mr Al-Mubarak pointed out that the total assets of Islamic financial services in the banking sector, the sukuk sector, the insurance sector and the investment fund sector in Saudi Arabia amounted to nearly $800bn, representing approximately 28% the total Islamic financial assets globally.
According to the IFSB’s report this year, Islamic banking has achieved annual growth of more than 10%, and Saudi Arabia alone has captured a quarter of that figure. Mr Al-Mubarak said his country, through the Islamic banking sector, has been able to lead the world in terms of the volume of shariah-compliant financial assets in various financial and commercial sectors.
The Islamic banking sector in Saudi Arabia grew rapidly, with total shariah-compliant financing reaching more than $430bn, while shariah-compliant deposits totalled $433bn by the end of 2Q 2021. M