CURREN UPDATE : FIRST ISLAMIC BANK IN EUROZONE TO COME UP IN LUXEMBOURG

FIRST ISLAMIC BANK IN EUROZONE TO COME UP IN LUXEMBOURG

A host of private investors from GCC countries, including a royal family from the UAE have planned to set up the first full-fledged Islamic bank in the euro zone. The Eurisbank will come up in Luxembourg during the last quarter of 2014. An announcement to this effect was made on the sidelines of Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai. 

The Excellencia Investment Management group said that with an initial capital of $80m, the bank would offer retail, corporate and private banking services, and would open branches in Paris, Brussels, the Netherlands and Frankfurt.

In addition to the royal family from the UAE, Eurisbank will be owned by a bank from a GCC country and other private investor. Islamic finance has been slow to develop in Europe, but Luxembourg has successfully marketed itself as a center for issuing and trading Islamic bonds. Since the global financial crisis, some European governments have shown more interest in Islamic finance, partly because it could be a way to attract funds from the Gulf and Southeast Asia.