What attracts conventional investors to Islamic financial instruments? We answer this question by comparing Malaysian Islamic and conventional security prices and their response to macrofinancial factors. Our analysis suggests that Islamic and conventional bond and equity prices are driven by...

Derivatives are few and far between in countries where the compatibility of financial transactions with Islamic law requires the development of shari'ah-compliant structures. Islamic finance is governed by the shari'ah, which bans speculation and gambling, and stipulates that income must be...

The relative financial strength of Islamic banks is assessed empirically based on evidence covering individual Islamic and commercial banks in 18 banking systems with a substantial presence of Islamic banking. We find that (i) small Islamic banks tend to be financially stronger than small...

Recent years have witnessed a surge in the issuance of Islamic capital market securities (sukuk) by corporates and public sector entities amid growing demand for alternative investments. As the sukuk market continues to develop, new challenges and opportunities for sovereign debt managers and...

Over the last decade, Islamic banking has experienced global growth rates of 10-15 percent per annum, and has been moving into an increasing number of conventional financial systems at such a rapid pace that Islamic financial institutions are present today in over 51 countries. Despite this...

This paper assesses the impact of bonds issued according to Islamic principles (Sukuk), on the cost and risk structure of investment portfolios by using the Value-at-Risk (VaR) framework. The market for Sukuk has grown tremendously in recent years at about 45 percent a year. Sukuk provide...

This Technical Note examines the condition of the banking system for Pakistan. The number of commercial banks and various nonbank financial institutions in the country grew rapidly in the early 1990s. The privatization of state-owned banks has been accompanied by the liberalization in the...

The provision and use of financial services and products that conform to Islamic religious principles pose special challenges for the identification, measurement, monitoring, and control of underlying risks. Effective and efficient risk management in Islamic financial institutions has assumed...