The Ukrainian financiers turned to banking which works according to the norms of Shariat in hope to involve to the country investments from the Muslim states. The first products corresponding to norms of Islam will appear in Ukraine in 2010.
In November, 2009, the Ukrainian Fortuna-bank for the first time celebrated an Islamic holiday of Kurban-Bayram. Bankers sent in this day about 100 congratulatory messages to their colleagues from the countries of the Middle East. It was done with an ulterior motive. In couple of months Fortuna-bank is going to present in Ukraine four financial services, corresponding to Shariat laws: the account poste restante "Kard Hasan", the deposit "Wadi'a and Damana", savings cells "Wadi'a and Amana" and VISA cards "Al Aval".
In 2010 to Fortuna-bank may join some more pioneers of Islamic finance in Ukraine. As it informs "The Focus", nowadays two banks carry out consultations of experts in subtleties of the Islamic finance. BTA-BANK may lead Shariat-products. Its parent structure, TurAnalem bank, offers credits not contradicting to Islam and deposits in the homeland – Kazakhstan.
Reliable reputation
"Arrival of Islamic financial products may make bank system of Ukraine steadier", Alexander Sugonyako, the president of the Association of the Ukrainian Banks is assured. According to The Banker magazine, during the current year, despite recession in all over the world, the international financial actives corresponding to the laws of Shariat, have grown practically on third, to $822 milliard.
To shake reputation of Muslim principles of business could not Dubai company Dubai World, which declared in November about inability to extinguish in time obligations under bonds on $59 milliard. After all, only of 15 % or $3 million of these securities corresponded to Islam whereas the others were issued according to the Western norms. Besides, world financial giants, such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Citibank, BNP Paribas, ING bank and Goldman Sachs, have Islamic sub-divisions in the structures.
The reasons of world demand for Shariat-banking lay in the rules of making such tools more reliable. In the category of "haram",or that is forbidden by Islam, fall all virtual transactions: for example, purchase of the future crops, not extracted minerals, interest rates of the next year, and also acquisition of debts. "Difference of Islamic banks is that they have no right to take and pay interest, – is explained by the vice-president of the board of Fortuna-bank Vladimir Stetsura. – Under Muslim laws money cannot be goods, but only calculation means". The core of the interdiction is justice principle: bank which has more money, than its client, raising interest on the loan, makes the borrower poorer, and thereby being enriched. Shariat approves credits only if both the client and the financier risk equally. Therefore Islamic credits can be considered as participation in profit of this or that project. For example, the credit of "musharaka" type looks so: the bank gives out to the businessman money for any project on a condition of participation in work as the partner. Therefore the bank is interested exclusively in prosperity of the client and if there will be the slightest doubts in perspectivity of its business plan financing it will be refused.
Takaful insurance
After bank products in Ukraine may appear takaful insurance. Takaful differs from the habitual insurance in the way that the company does not incur risks, and acts only as the manager of fund into which pay its participants. As Gosfinuslug told to "Focus", the takaful-companies in Ukraine cannot work nowadays due to certain legislative restrictions, "To adhere to the mutual insurance mechanism is impossible because of operating requirements on investing of means of the insurance company". Any insurance company is obliged to keep the greatest part of clients' money in interest-based tools forbidden by Islam, including deposits and securities.
However, nothing prevents the insurer to sign the individual contract with the bank or investment company which will not contradict neither to norms of Shariat, nor to the Ukrainian laws. "We reinsure risks of the companies from the Middle East, whose activity is regulated by norms of Shariat. At the same time we are compelled to follow decisions of the takaful-companies which risks we reinsure", Igor Vasilchenko, the vice-president of "Lemma" company, reinsuring takaful from Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Malaysia and other Muslim countries, stated.
The main problem of Islamic tools both in Ukraine, and in the developed countries is their adaptation to Western ones. After all, there are no uniform international standards of the finance corresponding to Shariat, and depending on the country oriental financial principles can be interpreted differently. As the professor of Bredford University Rozani Hanifa considers, nowadays ripened necessity of creation of uniform international Shariat-standards, and also world regulatory systems for the Muslim finance. Great Britain may become one of the centres of Islamic banking in the West. Nowadays the international centre of the finance according to Shariat is Malaysia.
Prospects
The experts questioned by "Focus" differently estimate prospects of Shariat finance in Ukraine. For example, many doubt that the domestic enterprises will trust to Islamic banking. The reason is in national traditions of business dealing according to which it is not accepted to disclose one's profit completely. "Minimisation of incomes is a habitual concept for government officials, not to mention businessmen. Even for the sake of credit receiving businessmen hardly would show their profit", the ex-adviser of the head of the NBU Anatoly Drobyazko marks. However, the demand on the Shariat finance all the same will be, after all, already nowadays they have potential consumers - they are about 2 million of Muslims living in Ukraine. For certain other citizens will become interested in alternative bank tools, too.
Attraction of investments
But most of all in Shariat-banking are interested financiers – introduction of Muslim products should help in attraction of investments from the Middle East and the Asian countries. In the beginning of January the Ukrainian developer UDC Holding intends to declare a subscription to Islamic bonds sukkuk, hoping to involve $100 million, first of all – from the Arabian states. Pioneers of Ukrainian sukkuk are going to issue and sell the securities in Great Britain. The company already invited council of Sheikhs – Shariat-board which should define, whether the project under which the finance is involved, contradicts Shariat, and whether it is possible to trust the emitter. General Director of UDC Holding Leonid Bogdanov considers that extra dollars from the East will begin to flow in the country much more willingly, than from an opposite side, as Western investors were extremely disappointed in Ukraine. "We offer the clear tool for oriental investors. Plus positive conclusion of the Shariat-board guarantees to the investor that our bonds is not dust", the top-manager gives his arguments. In Fortuna-bank the most important plus of introduction of new services is considered possibility to serve goods turnover between Ukraine and the East. The head of the press centre of one of the Gulf States Abultef Nidal confirms that Islamic financial products will push oriental investors to Ukraine.
Interesting offers
Financial product, corresponding to the norms of Shariat.
| Financial operation | Analogue in Shariat (in Arabic) | Peculiarities of the Islamic product |
| Deposit/ savings account | Wadia and Damana | The contract of the guaranteed storage. The bank has the right to dispose means entrusted to it and to get profit on their investing only with the permission of the client |
| Interest-free credit | Kard al-Hasana | Unique product of Islamic business. It is paid back in advance stipulated parts. If the client cannot repay a debt on due time, the loan is recorded as charitable help |
| Credit or deposit | Mudaraba | Unique product of Islamic business. The transaction at which the investor gives money and other party uses them. The profit is shared between the parties. As the investor may act both bank (credit), and the client of the bank (deposit) |
| Securities, bonds | Sukkuk | The securities provided with exclusively real actives. Instead of the fixed interest, assumes joint division of profits and losses between the emitter and the holder of bonds |
| Insurance | Takaful | The insurance company cannot invest money in interest-based tools. Thus, the insurer operates the money of clients, but does not bear on himself risks at insured events |
By «Focus»
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