There is a need for the Islamic banking industry to capitalise on fintech to sustain its growth momentum, says SBP statement. “Given the significant contribution of branchless banking towards improving financial inclusion, there is a need for the Islamic banking industry to capitalise on fintech to sustain its growth momentum.”“This plan gives headline targets in terms of increasing share in both assets and deposits of the Islamic banking industry to 30% of the overall banking industry, 35% share in branch network of the overall banking industry, 10% and 8% share in SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) financing and agriculture financing respectively in private sector financing of the Islamic banking industry (by 2025),” according to the SBP’s Strategic Plan for Islamic Banking Industry 2021-25. The Islamic banking industry has now become a systemically important component of the banking industry with a remarkable growth over the last two decades. The Islamic banking industry has widened its footprint in the banking network of the country. Currently, 22 Islamic banking institutions (five full-fledged Islamic banks and 17 conventional banks having standalone Islamic banking branches) are offering Shariah-compliant products and services through a network of 3,456 branches and 1,638 Islamic banking windows (dedicated counters at conventional branches) spread across 124 districts of the country.

Source: The Express Tribune April 06, 2021 03:50 UTC