Musa Shihadeh on CSR and sharia compliance | Jordan Islamic Bank | Video

Transcript

With its Sharia quality rating of AA reaffirmed, Jordan Islamic Bank is going from strength to strength. CEO, Vice Chairman & GM Musa Shihadeh talks about being a “pioneer in Islamic banking” and the importance of social responsibility.

World Finance: Musa, let’s start talking about the continuous growth your bank has seen in assets, deposits, as well as financing and profits. What has been your key to success?

Musa Shihadeh: The key for that is that we are keeping our services to our customers on the latest technology, we train our staff, and we introduce always new products and services for the customers, to satisfy their needs.

World Finance: The banking sector is a very competitive marketplace, what sort of unique products or services do you offer?

Musa Shihadeh: We stick to the Sharia application, and we continue giving the services, whatever the customer asks for, and we have good relations with international and national banks, and people we deal with. We make their satisfaction our main goal in order to continue having this success.

World Finance: How do you look after your shareholders?

Musa Shihadeh: As for the shareholders, they are satisfied. We are the highest bank in the country that gives the shareholders return on their equity. The shareholder equity return this year, for example, was 18.7 after tax. Last year it was 16.7. It is the highest in the country between conventional and Islamic banks as well. So they are very satisfied with this return.

World Finance: Jordan Islamic Bank is known for being a pioneer in Islamic banking. Why do you think that is?

We are one of the oldest banks in Islamic banking in the world

Musa Shihadeh: Because we are one of the oldest banks in Islamic banking in the world. We started our business, as I mentioned, in 1979, and developed the system for Islamic banking. We started training our staff, we always get the latest technology to be applied in our services to our customers. We always give new products to satisfy the needs of our customers, and we connect our customers with other places and countries as well, so we are the best serviced, a fast service, to reach whatever they think the need and ask for.

World Finance: A big part of Sharia compliant banking is social responsibility. What sort of services do you offer?

Musa Shihadeh: Social responsibility, we are a pioneer in this as well, because we have a committee for social responsibility, from the board of directors as well as from the management. As a committee, we offer a lot of services, and we finance SMEs, small micro-financing. We give financing for the craftsmen, and engineers, doctors, whatever they need, and we always do the business which has helped the country as well, for example last year we were the first bank to introduce a solar energy system.

World Finance: And what’s next for Jordan Islamic Bank?

Musa Shihadeh: We always review our strategies yearly, in order to make sure that we are doing our business according to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, because we take care of all stakeholders, shareholders, staff. We train our staff to be a pioneer in the knowledge. We always apply new technology, and we give services to our customers, and we look forward to always to have this latest technology applied in the country, by having a company and staff do programs we need to apply Islamic banking.

World Finance: Thank you.

Musa Shihadeh: Thank you very much.