The 19th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2012)
Date: 09-11 December 2012
Venue: Manama - Saudi Arabia

The 19th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2012) was held from 9 to 11 December 2012 in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and with the official support of the Central Bank of Bahrain. WIBC 2012 was themed “Islamic Finance: Adapting to the New Dynamics of Global Finance” and attended by over 1,000 industry leaders from over 50 countries representing some 260 international and regional organizations. Almost a hundred international speakers and industry thought leaders discussed critical issues that the global Islamic finance industry is currently facing and how Islamic finance can adapt to the new dynamics of global finance.

The three day event was preceded by a series of technical pre-conference workshops and executive briefing sessions led by experienced and respected international industry standard-setting bodies and experts. The International Islamic Financial Markets (IIFM) led a workshop on Islamic capital markets, liquidity management and risk mitigation instruments. A ratings workshop on ‘Towards Greater Transparency and Capital Markets Development’ was also organized by the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA).

The main WIBC conference was officially inaugurated by H.E. Rasheed M. Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain. Focusing on capacity building to support the international development of Islamic finance, Mr. Al Maraj discussed key initiatives to enhance the supervisory architecture to facilitate the international development of Islamic finance, harmonize cross-border linkages and fast-track best practices to new emerging jurisdictions for Islamic finance.

A key highlight of WIBC 2012 was the high-powered CEO and industry leaders’ power debate led by internationally respected CEOs and decision-makers from the key players in the industry. The Power Debate analyzed the critical success factors that will propel the Islamic finance industry to its next level of growth.

The 2012/13 edition of the World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report was also launched at a specially convened session at the conference. Developed in collaboration with Ernst & Young, the Report titled “Growing Beyond: DNA of a Successful Transformation”, noted that “Islamic banking growth outlook continues to be positive, growing 50% faster than overall banking sector in several core markets with the Islamic banking assets with commercial banks globally grew to $1.3 trillion in 2011, suggesting an average annual growth of 19% over past four years.”

WIBC 2012 continued on the final day with a special guest address by H.E. Jaloul Ayed, Former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Tunisia who discussed the potential of Islamic finance in Maghreb countries.

Agenda of the WIBC 2012

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