The Islamic finance industry is set to achieve a historic milestone this year, with total assets with such financial institutions to cross the $1 trillion mark, said an expert.
'Never before has the role of regulators and standard-setting bodies been more important for the industry than now,' said Ernst & Young's Islamic Financial Services Bahrain team head Ashar Nazim in an address to the IFSB Summit in which AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics participated as communicator partner.
'From being a niche segment to becoming a trillion-dollar industry brings an enormous fiduciary responsibility for Islamic financial institutions,' he said.
'And regulators and infrastructure institutions need to provide active direction for a balanced and sustainable growth of all segments of the sector.
'The industry's ability to absorb the shocks of financial crises better than conventional institutions has attracted unprecedented attention, including from non-core markets of Europe and North America,' he said.
'Islamic assets are projected to increase five-fold to $5 trillion, although achieving this level first requires a new level of regulatory support.