Türkiye’s well-developed infrastructure and robust network of participation banks, underpinned by solid support from the government and various key domestic and international stakeholders, will be an attractive prospect for potential investors and position the country as a destination for Islamic finance

Istanbul, Türkiye – 15 December 2023

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) is pleased to announce that it successfully organised a collaborative capacity building programme with the Participation Banks Association of Türkiye (TKBB), titled ‘The IILM-TKBB Capacity Building Programme’, in Istanbul, Türkiye on 14th of December 2023.

The one-day programme was organised to increase the know-how and knowledge sharing among Turkish participation banks and financial institutions in the field of Islamic liquidity management among market participants.

The capacity building programme was divided into three main presentation sessions: by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) on liquidity risk management from the regulatory perspective; by Albaraka Türk Participation Bank on the landscape of the Islamic liquidity management tools available to the participation financial institutions in Türkiye and its challenges; as well as a presentation by the IILM on the IILM Sukūk as a cross-border liquidity management solution.

In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Umar Oseni, Chief Executive Officer of the IILM, said: “The IILM welcomes recent development that increases Türkiye’s participation banks’ ability to manage their liquidity and further grow the domestic market. There is no doubt that Türkiye’s well-developed infrastructure and robust network of participation banks, underpinned by solid support from the government and various key domestic and international stakeholders, will be an attractive prospect for potential investors and position the country as a destination for Islamic finance.”

Fatma Çınar, Director of TKBB, welcomed the productive engagement throughout the programme, which provided an ideal platform for the participants and speakers to exchange ideas and experiences, especially with regards to Türkiye’s liquidity management landscape.

“As TKBB which is the association of Türkiye for participation banks covering 6 full pledged and 2 digital member banks, we are pleased to collaborate with IILM by hosting the program today and we think that today’s sessions were especially important for Turkish participation finance ecosystem ––as it is highlighted the opportunities and challenges that are present in the domestic market at the moment. and what can be done to increase the total market share of participation finance in the banking sector to 15% by 2025 which is %8.6 as of now We believe that the programme will also contribute to supporting the development of Islamic capital markets with all its elements while discussing innovative structures in the sukuk market which have gained significant momentum in our country in recent years. Especially in the period from 2010, when the first sukuk was issued by our participation banks, to October 2023, TL 368 billion of domestic sukuk was issued, while approximately USD 5 billion and MYR 2 billion of foreign currency sukuk were issued. In addition to these issuances, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Türkiye issued a total of TL 294 billion worth of sukuk between 2012 and 2023, while USD 3 billion, EUR 4 billion and 233 tonnes of gold-based sukuk were issued. With these developments, diversity was increased and significant contribution was made to strengthen of international Islamic liquidity resources. On a global scale, Türkiye has been ranked among the 5 countries with the highest number of sukuk issuances in the global sukuk issuance league as of 2023.

The IILM-TKBB Capacity Building Programme was attended by approximately 80 finance professionals and relevant stakeholders including public authorities, local and international financial institutions (IFIs), participation banks, business organizations and experts in the field from all over Türkiye and beyond.