Islamic finance: Industry body launches manual for credit unions

DUBAI: 

The World Council of Credit Unions launched a manual discussing how to establish and operate Shariah-compliant credit unions in developing countries, which could help to broaden the Islamic finance industry’s retail customer base.

With the exception of Islamic insurance, the cooperative financing model of credit unions is not widely used in Islamic finance, although the industry can trace its modern roots to Egypt’s Mitt Ghamr cooperative, a credit union set up in 1963.

The World Council, a US-based trade association which operates internationally, hopes the manual will help to develop Islamic credit unions across a wide range of markets.

“The manual now provides a cornerstone for local credit union development in countries as diverse as Libya and Pakistan to Australia and the United States,” said Brian Branch, the World Council’s president and chief executive.

(The Express Tribune / 01 Aug 2013)

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