Islamic finance industry association established

The Islamic Finance and Investments Association (IFIA) will work to further Australia's nascent Islamic banking, finance and investments sector and Shariah compliant standards.

Launched today, the IFIA is led by chief executive Chaaban Omran, the former chief executive of Crescent Wealth who has also previously held roles with Perpetual, MLC, IOOF, AMP Capital, and Commonwealth Bank.

Serving as chair is Talal Yassine, managing director of Salaam (formerly Crescent Wealth).

Worldwide, the Islamic finance sector is expected to top $4 trillion by 2026.

The foundation members of the association are Salaam, Islamic Co-operative Finance Australia, Ijarah Finance, Benchmark Capital, Islamic Money Australia, and Awqaf Australia.

The group said it will be initially focused on:

• advocating for stamp duty and taxation changes to align with Islamic banking and finance requirements, and inform members of existing and proposed legislation and regulations; 
• provide training and education opportunities for member organisations and the broader community; 
• informing Australians and key stakeholder groups about the role and value of Islamic finance; and 
• seeking opportunities for the industry to further contribute to the community.

"We will work closely with government and regulators to represent our members while prioritising both industry standards and client and member interests," Omran said.

"Given the changing landscape in both regulation and structure, as an industry, we believe the time is right to form a dedicated peak body to focus solely on matters related to Islamic finance and the one million strong Muslim community in Australia that it aims to serve."

Also commenting, Yassine said: "Through IFIA, we intend to strengthen our engagement and relationships with our stakeholders, including consumers, their representatives, policymakers and regulators, to ensure we deeply understand their views."

"The Islamic Finance and Investments Association will be the progressive voice of Islamic finance in Australia, focusing on what is important to consumers and making continuous improvements to meet those expectations. IFIA will also look to foster and strengthen the knowledge and understanding of Australians on the ethical nature of Islamic finance and the benefits and value it can provide."