LIBOR transition: challenges for Islamic finance transactions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawad Ali ◽  
Michael Rainey ◽  
Asal Saghari

Purpose To examine the implications of the cessation of LIBOR in the context of Islamic finance transactions and to suggest potential solutions for the Shari’ah-compliant use of near risk-free reference rates (RFRs) in such transactions. Design/methodology/approach Provides an overview of the main regulatory changes by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to LIBOR, a review of the key details regarding the cessation of LIBOR and specific risk factors, a discussion of core concepts of Islamic finance and the unique challenges that the models face considering the LIBOR reforms, and an outline of several innovative solutions that can be utilized by organizations and institutions to overcome the potential complexities of the LIBOR reforms. Findings The financing component of a seller’s profit margin in a murabaha transaction may be calculated using LIBOR, a forward-looking rate. LIBOR as a financing rate benchmark is being replaced by RFRs, which are backward-looking rates. A possible way to use RFRs in a murabaha transaction might be to recalculate the seller’s profit margin depending on actual RFRs during the financing period with the seller offering appropriate rebates to the buyer. Originality/value Expert guidance from experienced corporate, financing, investment, and Islamic financing lawyers.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Heitor de Oliveira Barros ◽  
Inêz Manuele dos Santos ◽  
Marcelo Hazin Alencar ◽  
Luciana Hazin Alencar

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to structure the problem of retail out of stock (OOS). This methodology allows investigating risk factors and barriers related to the main causes and consequences that lead to OOS occurring.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed methodology to structure the OOS problem is based on the bow- ie tool, which allows better visualisation, understanding and analysis of a complete OOS scenario. This proposal comprises exploring the main causes and consequences of OOS, the barriers to prevention and mitigation, the escalation factors to control undesirable events and to define actions to eliminate or mitigate the OSS risk.FindingsSeveral potential causal risk factors, related to technical, behavioural, cultural and organisational aspects, were identified with this methodology. With the analysis of the OOS scenario, it was observed that the factors that lead to the OOS risk are preventable. In order to improve existing barriers or implement new barriers, a set of actions can be recommended to reduce or eliminate OOS risk factors.Originality/valueFrom a better understanding of hazard, the bow-tie methodology allows identifying crucial factors that could be acted upon to reduce the incidence of OSS. Thus, the value is to propose a methodology that allows establishing the preventive and protective barriers necessaries and the escalation factors related to each of these to help structure the problem and consequently reduce the OOS in retail organisations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 190-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brid Featherstone ◽  
Anna Gupta ◽  
Kate Morris

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the need to move away from a sole focus on assessing and dealing with individualised risk factors in order to more fully engage with and understand the social determinants of many of the harms that are manifest in families. Design/methodology/approach It draws from a number of research studies being conducted by the authors and a literature on psycho-social approaches to social suffering. Findings It highlights the evidence on the contribution of poverty and inequality to many of the problems encountered within families. It explores how hurt, shame and loss are experienced by those who are marginalised and struggling to live well and care safely for themselves and others. Practical implications It highlights the practice implications of adopting an approach that engages with both the social and the psychological and understands their inter-relationship. It offers some thoughts on how the social in psycho-social might receive the attention it deserves, a situation which does not pertain currently. Originality/value It offers an original contribution to thinking in the area of child protection where the focus is primarily on individualised risk factors. It highlights the importance of understanding the social determinants of many of the harms experienced in families and offers some pointers towards thinking and practising differently.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabid Ali Al-Jarhi

Purpose This paper aims to provide an economic rationale for Islamic finance. Design/methodology/approach Its methodology is simple. It starts with listing the contributions to economic analysis relevant to the required rationale in the theories of banking, finance, price, money and macroeconomics, to identify the main rationale for Islamic finance. A concise description of the author’s model for an Islamic economic system, within which Islamic finance can be operational, is provided. Findings The paper finds distinct advantages of Islamic finance, when properly applied within the author’s model. Islamic finance can therefore be a candidate as a reform agenda for conventional finance. It opens the door for significant monetary reform in currently prevalent economic systems. Research limitations/implications The first limitation of the paper is that the distinct benefits of Islamic finance are all of macroeconomic types which are external to Islamic banking and finance institutions. They are therefore not expected to motivate such institutions to apply Islamic finance to the letter, without regulators interference to ensure strict application. The second limitation is the necessity to set up enabling institutional and regulatory arrangements for Islamic finance. Originality/value The results are unique as they challenge the received doctrine and provide non-religious rationale for Islamic finance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chee Kwong Lau ◽  
Hexin Chen

PurposeThis study examines the stakeholder perception of the sustainability risks, challenges and benefits arising from managing these risks in the Singapore construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire consisting of 89 risk factors, challenges and benefits, was administered, with 216 responses received from various stakeholders. Regression analyses were used to estimate the relationships between sustainability and business risk factors, challenges and benefits associated with business sustainability practices.FindingsStakeholders recognise the importance of the emerging sustainability risk factors, and indeed rank these almost on a par with conventional business risk factors. The inherent business risks determine the nature of sustainability risk factors for construction firms, which in turn can affect their business risks and the performance and value creation of firms. However, most stakeholders, while acknowledging that business sustainability practices can provide benefits as well as posing challenges, do not believe that they can derive net benefits from such practices.Research limitations/implicationsThrough this perception study, there is an urgent need to turn the existing awareness of the importance of business sustainability (BS) practices into more consistent and solid actions among construction firms in Singapore.Practical implicationsThis study’s results imply construction firms to incorporate BS practices more systematically into their business strategies and operations, and to include sustainability risk factors alongside conventional business risks in their risk registers and risk management frameworks.Originality/valueThis study consolidates various variables and constructs of BS matters in the literature and practice into a meaningful framework for the management of BS in the construction industry.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Clark ◽  
Frederic Dimanche ◽  
Rebecca Cotter ◽  
Donna Lee-Rosen

Purpose This paper aims to provide perspectives on human capital challenges for the events industry in Canada. Industry and educator perspectives are featured in two segments of the paper. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides an overview of the events sector in Canada and includes a literature review clarifying key definitions and terms. Industry and educator perspectives highlight ongoing discussions related to some of the human capital challenges identified in the paper. Findings This paper explores challenges related to human capital such as the pressures of working in the events industry and finding a work – life balance given the demands of the profession. Human capital challenges related to the preparedness of professionals and the need for continued certification and training are also discussed. A potential solution considers licensing and industry-wide certification. Consideration of the benefits and requirements of industry-wide certification and licensing is ongoing. Practical implications This paper emphasizes the need for cooperation between industry and educators to ensure that new events professionals have the necessary skills training and can recognize the need to contribute to the events industry throughout their careers. Originality/value This paper considers perspectives from education and industry and emphasizes challenges that are relevant and current for existing and future events professionals in Canada.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93
Author(s):  
Abdulbari Mashal ◽  
Amer Hajal ◽  
Om Kalthoum Majoul ◽  
Mir Riaz Ansary

Purpose This paper aims to investigate sale with the temporary exclusion of usufruct, a format debated in classical Islamic jurisprudence. More specifically, it examines the application of this sale format in the diminishing partnership arrangement used by American Finance House LARIBA to finance house purchases. It analyzes the Sharīʿah issues and assesses the risks involved. Design/methodology/approach The research is qualitative, surveying and critically analyzing classical fiqh literature and contemporary juristic resolutions, as well as LARIBA’s financing documents. Finally, it systematically surveys the associated risk factors, first qualitatively, and then by quantifying them. Findings The research concludes that sale with the temporary exclusion of usufruct is a valid contract in Islamic law. When the usufruct is priced at market rate, the financing arrangement is genuinely Islamic and brings added value. Moreover, it is very effective in addressing risks for Islamic banks, particularly in countries with legal systems not designed to accommodate Islamic finance. Originality/value This study systematically examines all aspects of a contract that has not received sufficient academic attention, that has been underutilized by the Islamic finance industry and that is more fitting for implementation than many of the contracts currently being used.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelghani Echchabi ◽  
Hassanuddeen Abd. Aziz

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the customers’ perception regarding the current shari’ah issues of Islamic banks in Malaysia. Specifically, the study attempts to examine the awareness of the current criticisms of the main shari’ah issues in Islamic finance, and the perception of the selected customers towards these criticisms. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a qualitative approach to understand in detail the customers’ perception and experiences about shari’ah compliance of Islamic banks. Semi-structured interview is used with ten Islamic banks’ customers in Malaysia. The study also used phenomenological techniques to analyse the data. Findings – The findings revealed that the interviewees have considerable exposure and awareness of the current criticisms of the shari’ah compliance of Islamic banks. Originality/value – This research is the first to study the shari’ah issues of Islamic banks in Malaysia from the customers’ perspective, by using a qualitative research approach. The findings of this study are of original importance, because they unveil the customers’ experience in an area that has been severely looked at from the professional and experts’ point of view only.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azniza Hartini Azrai Azaimi Ambrose ◽  
Fadhilah Abdullah Asuhaimi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively discuss the issue of risk vis-à-vis the perpetuity restriction principle inherent in waqf (Islamic endowment). Specifically, it attempts to consolidate the axioms in both conventional and Islamic finance, such as the risk-return trade-off and al-ghunm bi al-ghurm (liability accompanies gain), with the perpetual nature of waqf. Overall, this paper attempts to find a resolution to the dilemma of perpetuity restriction inherent in cash waqf against the natural occurrence of the risk. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the secondary research methodology; past literature encompassing journal articles, books, relevant financial axioms, fatwas (Islamic rulings) and state enactments is critically reviewed to present its case. In regard to state enactments, only Malaysian state enactments have been used, thus restricting the study to the Malaysian case only. Findings This study contends that the dilemma of the perpetuity restriction and the natural occurrence of risk can be resolved through the integration of waqf risk management, especially concerning cash waqf, with the Islamic spiritual approach. By implementing standard operating procedures that inculcate awareness on waqf risk management and Islamic spirituality in waqf stakeholders (waqif (donor), trustee and beneficiaries), the stakeholders may accept the reality of risk that is inevitable even after all efforts have been exhausted. In other words, the violation of perpetuity is exonerated given that mental faculties aligned with revealed texts have been exhaustively used beforehand. Practical implications Findings from this study may broaden the choice of investment avenues for waqf trustees while adhering to the perpetual restriction of waqf. More importantly, waqf trustees will not be forced to invest in interest-bearing securities or be involved in any usurious transactions just to obtain guaranteed returns and preserve the corpus of waqf. Originality/value This study offers a unique perspective on cash waqf risk management by re-analyzing the axioms and concepts of finance and waqf while observing the welfare of the beneficiaries.


Author(s):  
Yasushi Suzuki ◽  
Mohammad Dulal Miah

Purpose This paper aims to propose two benchmarks “Shari’ah-compliant” benchmark and “Shari’ah-based” “raf’ al-haraj” (the removal of hardship) benchmark. The former benchmark can be applied to ensure that a transaction brings “profits on sales” and not “profits on loan”, and the latter benchmark should be addressed to ensure that a transaction does not exploit the customers of Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw upon the theory of institutional economics, in particular, instrumental and procedural rationality, to argue that the believers can pay their best effort as an exercise of ijtihad to understand and incarnate the logic and rationales implicit in the Qur’anic text. Findings Currently, there is no benchmark that determines the profit ceiling on murabaha. The authors suggest two types of “gray-zones” – the “Shari’ah-compliant but less contributing to the removal of hardship” and the “controversial on compliance but contributing to the removal of hardship in borrowers” to use as a benchmark in endorsing less shariah-compliant Islamic products. Practical implications There is no benchmark or a clear-cut demarcation that can be used to endorse less Shari’ah-compliant Islamic finance. Thus, Shari’ah-compliant’ benchmark and “Shari’ah-based” “raf’ al- haraj” benchmarks can be used to guide whether a financial transaction is acceptable or not. This guideline can be of huge practical relevance for Islamic finance. Originality/value There is no sensible study that offers such guidelines that can be used to demarcate whether a particular financial transaction, which has no clear-cut fatwa, is acceptable or not. Hence, the current research is novel and contributes to the existing literature of Islamic finance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Tan

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an overview of the origins of bansho, how it has developed to be an indispensable practice in Japan and its influence on countries outside Japan. The integration of bansho into lesson study (LS) will also be presented.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the vast literature on bansho from both in and outside Japan to illustrate the points mentioned above.FindingsRecapitulation on the history of chalkboard and bansho in different eras in Japan illustrated its endurance towards the test of time, geographical space and functions. While bansho remains a constant presence in LS research, there has not been any work that outlines how bansho is integrated into the LS cycle. Thus, a guideline on how bansho can be incorporated in the LS cycle is provided.Originality/valueA comprehensive overview of bansho allows educators and researchers outside Japan to move beyond the know-how and know-what of bansho; it would serve as an invaluable source to understand the core concepts underlying this classroom practice, thus avoiding the mere adaptation of bansho superficial aspects. This study also provides precise instruction on how bansho can be integrated into each step of the LS cycle, which will guide teachers and researchers in the future implementation of LS.


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