Traditionally, Islamic banks have practiced self regulation to - TopicsExpress

Traditionally, Islamic banks have practiced self regulation to ensure the Shariah-compliance of their products, but a centralized model is increasingly being favored across the global industry. Shariah boards are groups of scholars who rule on whether financial instruments follow religious principles, such as bans on interest payments and pure monetary speculation. The central bank will introduce new Shariah governance rules to expand the internal Shariah review and audit functions, while making it mandatory for banks to have an independent external Shariah audit. “Good governance is a pervasive theme of our times and for Islamic banks its importance cannot be over-emphasized,” Maraj said at an industry conference in the capital Manama on Tuesday.