Germany’s first Islamic bank to start in October

Berlin: Turkey’s Kuveyt Turk investment fund plans to open the first Islamic bank in Germany in October, the Financial Times Deutschland reported.

Kuveyt Turk plans to open its first branch, following the principles of the Islamic sharia law, in Frankfurt-am-Main in cooperation with Ernst & Young auditing company and Norton Rose law firm.

Sharia law prohibits a fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees on loans.

As for mortgages, the Islamic bank purchases houses and then sells it to a client for a higher price.

Other branches of the bank will be opened in German cities with large Muslim communities, particularly in Berlin.

As for other European countries, such banks are already providing their services in Britain, the paper said.

Analysts, however, doubt if such banking services will become popular in Germany where the Muslim community does not exceed five percent or 4.1 million people.