Libya hopes to have its first three dedicated Islamic banks operating next year to satisfy unmet demand for sharia-complaint financial services, a senior central bank official has said.
Authorities have decided to issue three Islamic banking licenses and the central bank has received five applications from local investors, which are currently being evaluated, said Abdulmajeed Almaguri, deputy director of the central bank’s banking supervision department.
He did not name the potential investors but said the evaluation process would be completed after four to five months.
Currently the 16 banks operating in Libya, including seven foreign banks, offer mainly conventional banking services with some providing interest-free Islamic banking through sharia-compliant windows.
(Source: Al Arabiya News)
(Islamic banking image via Shutterstock)
