Saturday, Sep 05, 2009 Dubai: The global financial crisis has not had an impact on Islamic banking because the principles of Islamic banking do not permit speculative economic activity, such as dealing in derivatives, said Adnan Ahmad Yousuf, president and CEO of Albaraka Banking Group and head of the Union of Arab Banks. Yousuf was interacting with the media at a Ramadan Majlis held at the Atlantis Hotel by the Dubai press Club and Albaraka Group . Calling Islamic banking a remarkable success story against the backdrop of the financial crisis, Yousuf said the Albaraka Group not only remained unaffected by the downturn, but managed to increase profits this year. Speaking of the downturn, Yousuf said that although the end had been reached, it would take a long time to get out of the economic crisis. "proactive government initiatives are a precondition to getting over the financial crisis. The developed countries must listen to Asian countries to avert this kind of situation in future," he said. Yousuf said the consolidated balance sheet of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks would prove beyond any shadow of doubt the impact of the crisis on banks in the region has been minimal. "But that does not mean we remain isolated from the rest of the world. It is indeed possible for the GCC countries to become more influential internationally. The GCC will actually be the fifth major economic bloc in a few years, provided it implements a common currency system and consolidated economic activity across the region further," he said. Appreciating Dubai's strategy, Yousuf said the emirate has achieved in 10 years what most Arab countries fail to achieve in 50. "The way the Central Bank intervened ... to fight the impact of the crisis was also a remarkable example of the UAE's far-sightedness," he said. Staff Report © Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
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