Leaders in Islamic Banking Meet

Leaders in Islamic Banking Meet

RICE NEWS OFFICE
July 30, 1998

Leaders in Islamic banking, financing and economics gathered to discuss finance
theory and practice during an international conference on the topic.

The "First International Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance in
North America" was held July 17-19 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in the Galleria
area. Topics at the conference included home financing, lease financing, commercial
financing, mutual funds, insurance and law.

Many large corporations and international banks are seeing advantages in the
Islamic banking and finance system, which does not rely on interest to make
money, but rather gives investors a stake in the equity of a company.

"A number of speakers recounted recent successes in receiving approval
by U.S. regulators of many Islamic finance contracts," explained Mahmoud
El-Gamal, the professor holding the Chair in Islamic Economics, Finance and
Management at Rice. "As regulators, finance professionals and religious
scholars continue to learn from one another, the prospects for Islamic finance
contine to grow. As Dr. Saleh Malaika, the U.S.-educated CEO of Albaraka Investment
and Development Co. put it, Islamic Finance saw its early developments in the
’60s and ’70s, and is just now starting to evolve from being a niche market
to becoming an industry."

The conference was cosponsored by the Islamic Society of North America, the
Chair of Islamic Economics, Finance and Management at Rice University, the American
Finance House-Lariba, Boston Capital, First Islamic Investment Bank, Key Global
Capital, North American Islamic Trust, and the United Bank of Kuwait-Manzil.

Panels covered several topics including commercial finance, lease financing,
insurance, banking trends, home financing, and Islamic banking vs. conventional
banking.

For related information visit the following Web site:
Rice University Department of Economics: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~econ/