For the First Time in Egyptian Islamic Banks and Fully Compliant with Shari'a Regulations
Cairo 24 th Fepuary 2010 - In fulfillment of its promise to launch new products to the Egyptian market, and in full compliance with Shari'a regulations, NBD is launching for the first time in Egyptian Islamic banking the "Yosr Murabha" personal finance" program and "Islamic Sukuk" using Wekala contracts, both of which were fully authorized and approved by the bank's shari'a board.
In celepation of this occasion, the bank organized a press conference at NBD's headquarters in Cairo, attended by the bank's top executives and headed by Nevine Loutfy, Managing Director and CEO of the National Bank for Development.
"Yosr Murabha" personal finance is a product that targets a wide range of customers who can use it for their personal needs. The financing amount varies between 10,000 and 200,000 Egyptian pounds, and the length of repayment can be from 12 months up until five years (60 months), split into equal installments.
As part of NBD working completely within the constraints of Shari'a law, which focuses on cooperation and partnership, "Yosr Murabha" is unique in possessing "Takaful Insurance", which adds a small amount to the installment cost and in return provides the client with a life insurance scheme, whereby shari'a-compliant insurance companies that the bank deals with take on the burden of meeting installments in the case of the client passing away.
The second product launched is "Islamic Sukuk", and the launch of this product is reaffirmation of NBD's dedication towards development and innovation. As well as offering the currently available "Sukuk" which have a three to five year timespan, NBD is also launching for the first time in Egypt a one-year "Suk", available to both individuals and companies. Beneficiaries of the Sukuk's will benefit from competitive profit rate, which are expected to vary between 7% and 7.25%, can either receive a monthly payment, or wait until the end of the Suk's term to collect the amount in full. NBD offers Sukuk which have a competitive rate to similar products in the Egyptian banking market, as well as having the added benefit of being fully shari'a compliant.
Islamic Sukuk are handled using what is called a "Wekala" contract, an agreement between the client and the bank. The Sukuk also have an added benefit in that they can function as collateral for personal financing from NBD, as well as receiving a "Discount Card" that can be used in ATM machines located nationwide. Islamic Sukuk have a value starting at 1,000 Egyptian pounds, with no upper limit.
"Launching these unique new products in the Egyptian market is a fulfillment of the promises we made over the last few months during our successful restructuring phase. The launch of these shari'a-compliant products is a step towards creating an even greater number of distinguished products and services, following up on the products that we have already launched such as Auto Murabha, which became one of the leaders in the Egyptian market in a very short space of time thanks to its meeting the needs of a large segment of the population and its compliance with shari'a regulations", said Nevine Loutfy, Managing Director and CEO of NBD.
The National Bank for Development works hard to ensure that its shari'a compliant products are launched with an international perspective on performance, using the bank's 70 panches located nationwide and a focus on excellence in performance that reflects NBD's basic strategy, which is to apply Islamic shari'a regulations to diverse modern banking methods and transactions.
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About NBD:
The National Bank for Development (NBD) was incorporated in June 1980 as a commercial bank with a capital of 50 million EGp and a total of 13 panches nationwide. In the last quarter of 2007, NBD was acquired by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a bank operating according to strict Islamic Shari's principles and one of the first banks to ping Shari'a compliance to global banking. With the full support from ADIB, NBD is in the process of restructuring to become a fully shari'a-complaint bank, and has completed the implementation of phase one of its new IT systems network and restructured and improved its infrastructure and departments. NBD participates in elevating Egyptian society by contributing to development projects and offering shari'a compliant financing to large, medium and small enterprises, as well as a individual customers.
For further information please contact:
Salah El Din Aloui
Media Relations Manager
promoseven Weber Shandwick
Tel: +2 02 3047215 - 17
Fax: +2 02 3047213
Mob: +2 012 39 79 586
E-Mail: salah@promoseven.com
© press Release 2010
