Ethics key to sustainable businesses — ADIB CEO

The UNEP Finance Initiative Global Roundtable 2016 was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai. The panel of Islamic bankers and investors highlighted that the heart of sustainability lies in ethical business practices such as those espoused by Islamic financing. The experts mentioned that most Islamic institutions were under increasing pressure to integrate environmental impact and sustainability into their decision-making process. CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Tirad Al Mahmoud, said ethics themselves were the answer to everything. He added that financial regulators often failed to properly apply incentives and disincentives, and suggested ethical investments could be rewarded by discounts on capital. Panellist Nida Raza, Director of Advisory Services at the Islamic Centre for Development of the Private Sector, said she believed Islamic finance bodies must become more inclusive.