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Experts have urged the government to introduce a separate and comprehensive law for regulating and promoting Islamic banking business in the country.
"We cannot run our Islamic banking business at its optimum level mainly due to the lack of an act," said M Azizul Huq, chairman of the Central Shariah Board for the Islamic Banks, while addressing a views-exchange meeting with media persons held at Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) office in the capital Saturday.
Currently, the Islamic banking business is being run under a Bangladesh Bank (BB) guideline issued in 2009.
The senior Islamic banking expert said the law would help issuing different Islamic products, including Sukuk Bond.
"Some banks have already shown interests to convert their businesses into Islamic banking from the existing conventional one," Mr. Huq said, explaining the ongoing trend in Islamic banking in the country.
He also said the interested banks knew that the existing problems in the Islamic banking business would be solved in future.
"We're trying heart and soul to establish real Islamic banking system in Bangladesh," said the Islamic banking expert.
AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul, vice-chairman of the Islamic Banks Consultative Forum (IBCF) and Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL), said the Islamic banking was playing a vital role to eliminate social disparity.
Among others, AQM Safiullah Arif, secretary general of Central Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh, also spoke on the occasion.
Eight private commercial banks (PCBs) were now operating under the Islamic Shariah. The banks have their own Shariah Councils to dictate terms of banking under the Islamic rules and regulations.
Besides, as many as fifteen conventional banks are running Islamic banking branches or windows side by side their conventional banking, according to the central bank records.