IslamicFinance.de

Qatari Islamic banks’ short-term high quality liquidity assets to cover monthly net cash outflow is comparable to those of their conventional peers and their funding pressures are to some extent mitigated by frequent bonds and sukuks issuance by the government, according to Moody’s, a global credit rating agency.

“In Qatar, the LCRs (liquidity coverage ratios) of Islamic banks are comparable to those of their conventional peers. This situation reflects the absence of sizable retail deposit franchises among the Qatari banks, coupled with heightened systemic liquidity pressures that had led to banks relying more heavily on market funding,” Moody’s said in a report. The funding pressures are mitigated somewhat by the frequent issuance of bonds and sukuk by the Qatari sovereign, a situation, which provides local Islamic banks with the same good access to HQLAs (high quality liquid assets) as their conventional peers, it said.
The rating agency found that five of the six GCC countries are Basel III compliant and have introduced LCRs, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman; only the UAE has yet to adopt a LCR framework for its banks.

Five year 150 billion CFA issuance sukuk priced at a profit rate of 5.75%
The Ivory Coast is to become the latest state to issue a Sovereign Sukuk as it today launched its debut five year 150 billion CFA issuance sukuk priced at a profit rate of 5.75%. The addition of the Ivory Coast displays the continued growth of the Islamic finance market into Africa and represents a highlight in quiet year for sukuk issuance’s with total issuance volumes down considerably due to tightening of liquidity in traditional Islamic financial markets of the Gulf and South East Asia.
The sukuk is being arranged by the Islamic Corporation for Private Sector Development (ICD). The ICD signed an agreement in April 2015 for the implementation of a five-year Sukuk programme for 300 billion CFA to be issued in two equal phases of 150 billion CFA each. A road show was held in Saudi Arabia from 14 to 19 November and followed a recent upward revision of the Ivory Coast’s sovereign rating by Moody’s from B1 to Ba3.