5 notable Islamic banks in Malaysia

By Leandra Monteiro

Islamic Finance is often called Sharia-compliant finance, and this highlights the main difference between conventional and Islamic Finance. While both types of Finance must obey the country’s laws in which they are offered, Islamic Finance is designed to also be compatible with the laws of Islam.

According to the Asia Focus report, since the early 1970s, Malaysia has constructed a detailed plan to domestically develop Islamic finance into a full-fledged dual banking system by 2020. The enactment of the Islamic Banking Act of 1983 enabled the founding of the first Islamic Bank in Malaysia. Since then, numerous financial institutions have joined Malaysia’s Islamic finance market.

Here are 5 top Islamic Banks in Malaysia:

Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad

Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad is an integrated banking group offering end-to-end banking and financial solutions through its consumer banking, business banking, Islamic banking, investment banking and stockbroking businesses.

The banking group is involved in the provision of financial services through its principal subsidiaries, Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad, Alliance Investment Bank Berhad and Alliance Islamic Bank Berhad. It provides easy access to its customers throughout the country via multi- delivery channels and direct marketing offices located nationwide, as well as mobile and Internet banking.

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM) aims to expand its suite of products and services to meet the financial needs of its customers, delivering Shariah-compliant financial solutions across retail, corporate, treasury and investment segments.

ARBM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Rajhi Bank Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was locally incorporated in October 2006. Following its official launch in 2007, ARBM became the first Arab bank to start its operation in Southeast Asia, as part of a Shariah-compliant banking group that is instrumental in bridging the gap between modern financial demands and intrinsic values, whilst spearheading numerous industry standards and development. Today, ARBM operates through a distribution network of 13 branches nationwide.

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad

Bank Islam is the pioneer of Islamic banking in Malaysia and has played a major role in the development and growth of the nation’s Islamic financial industry. The Bank’s existence today is geared towards meeting society’s financial needs in the most sustainable and ethical manner possible, staying anchored on the Shariah rules and principles.

Bank Islam offers end-to-end financial solutions that fulfil the diverse needs of our customers, as well as providing a platform for its stakeholders, including people, investors and communities, to prosper.

CIMB

CIMB Group is a leading ASEAN universal bank, one of the largest Asian investment banks and one of the world’s largest Islamic banks. It is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and offers consumers banking, commercial banking, wholesale banking, Islamic banking, and asset management products and services.

As the fifth largest banking group in ASEAN, it has over 36,000 staff in 16 locations across ASEAN, Asia and beyond. CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic Bank are members of PIDM.

Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad

Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad (HLISB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Leong Bank (HLB), which in turn forms an integral part of the larger Hong Leong Financial Group fficially launched as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HLB in July 2005, it currently operates through five full-fledged Islamic branches, in addition to a shared network of HLB branches and more than 1,100 self-service terminals nationwide. As such, it naturally benefits from a strong distribution network in offering Islamic banking products and services as a Shariah-compliant alternative to conventional banking.

In November 2011, HLISB completed its merger with EONCap Islamic Bank Berhad as part of a larger merger between HLB and EON Bank Berhad. This milestone marked the first of such mergers between two Islamic banks in Malaysia and had provided HLISB with improved scale and a deepened foothold within the highly competitive Islamic banking industry.

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