WIBC 2016 announces the 2nd series of the WIBC Leaderboard for global Islamic banking

After a very successful introduction of the first of its kind assessment tool for Islamic banks in 2015, WIBC 2016 is set to continue its efforts to enhance the performance and quality of the Islamic banking industry in the 2nd edition of the WIBC Leaderboard. The comprehensive performance assessment framework will help Islamic financial institutions assess their ranking and performance in comparison to their competitors. Specifically, the WIBC Performance Indicator will form the basis of the annually anticipated WIBC Performance Awards that will be announced at the WIBC Gala Dinner on 6th December 2016.

The WIBC Leaderboard is the innovative performance assessment that will provide rankings of the top Islamic banks and financial institutions based on a variety of robust financial and governance metrics such as asset growth, return on equity, return on assets, disclosures, and corporate social responsibility. The Leaderboard will provide industry participants a visually engaging view of Islamic banks to compare themselves with their peers at the global, regional and national levels across several dimensions. In addition to the individual metrics, banks will also be ranked on the basis of an aggregate score, which forms the apex of the WIBC Leaderboard. This aggregate index holistically ranks entities on the basis of the aforementioned financial and governance measures. The Leaderboard will therefore act as a benchmark for Islamic banks to estimate their performance against the top performing banks in the industry.

The data employed in creating the assessment framework has been sourced from the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) and Bankscope.

WIBC Leaderboard will have 3 categories for the Awards: One Global Award, Four Regional Awards for each of the following world regions: GCC, South East Asia, South Asia and Levant, Thirteen Country Awards for each of the following countries: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The CSR Award (Corporate Social Responsibility) will be a new addition to WIBC Leaderboard 2016. The scores will be aggregated as per the CSR Index and the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) and the CSR awards will be of 3 categories: a global winner, one regional winner and one national winner. The governance and Social Responsibility variables are extracted from the Thomson Reuters database.

This year in the innovative 23rd edition, WIBC will award a leader in the industry who has initiated notable contributions to the Islamic finance sector. The award - WIBC Islamic financier of the year 2016 – will be selected on the basis of audience votes, online as well as at the venue and the individual with the most votes will be presented with the award at the Gala Dinner of the performance awards.

The conveners of WIBC, Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA) have partnered with a powerful lineup of premier organizations. They include Bahrain Economic Development Board,  Kuwait Finance House (KFH), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA), World Gold Council, GFH Financial Group, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), Al Salam Bank Bahrain, Boubyan Bank, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad (BIBD), Simply Sharia Human Capital, Bank of Khartoum International (BOKi), Thomson Reuters, Ithmaar Bank, Grant Thornton, Al Baraka Banking Group, Ernst & Young, Islamic International Arab Bank (IIAB), Path Solutions, Luxembourg for Finance, Natixis, Capital Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, Eiger Trading Advisors Ltd, SAB IT, Shariyah Review Bureau,  Deloitte, ELIAN, AAFAQ Center for Research in Islamic Economy, DDCAP Group, Fitch Ratings, Bank AlKhair, Swiss Arab Group and many more.

WIBC 2016 will take place from the 5th - 7th of December in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the most developed Islamic finance hub in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, with the strategic partnership of the Central Bank of Bahrain, at the Art Rotana Hotel, Amwaj Islands, Muharraq. For more information on the event, visit www.wibc2016.com.