Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain: Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Refinitiv and iSecurities Hub signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to facilitate cooperation among the three institutions for the development of Shari’ah compliant treasury solutions, as well as, the development of a Sukuk platform.

The agreement is aimed at strengthening collaboration and foster joint initiatives and activities for the development of treasury solutions that is not only in compliance with Shari’ah but also in line with the spirit of Shari’ah. iSecurities Hub will also provide liquidity management solution to central banks encapsulating issuance of sovereign Sukuk, Shari’ah-compliant treasury bills, certificates of deposits and short term funding facilities among many products that are designed to improve central bank capabilities to improve the efficiency and performance of the Islamic banking sectors in their respective jurisdictions.

Once the solutions are developed, they will be certified by AAOIFI to be in compliance with the AAOIFI standards. Additionally, AAOIFI will also conduct periodic review and the Shari’ah audit of the transactions issued on the platform.

The certified platform and solutions will be connected with Refinitiv Eikon front end platform to have them available for all banks and financial institutions as a genuine solution replacing the traditional solutions available in the market. Additionally, AAOIFI will conduct ongoing review and audit of the platform and Sukuk issued on a periodic basis.

On the occasion of MOU signing ceremony Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari stated, “AAOIFI is pleased to partner with iSecurities Hub for the development of treasury solutions for the global Islamic banking and finance industry in partnership with Refinitiv. The role of AAOIFI is to provide certification of compliance with AAOIFI standards and in this regard it will be part of the project from initial stage to the completion and provide input as and where needed”.

Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Data and Analytics, LSEG said: “Refinitiv is delighted to partner with AAOIFI and Isecurities Hub on this strategic initiative to devlop Shari’ah compliant treasury solutions. As the leading provider of trading and workflow solutions for the Islamic finance industry, we will integrate the solutions into our Islamic Deal Connect platform, providing our clients with a completely automated post-trade solution that uses straight through processing for their Islamic transactions”.

Dr Scott Levy, Founder of isecuritiesHub stated “The limitations in the current  market for shari’ah compliant liquidity products has put Islamic banks at a disadvantage compared to its conventional competitors.  This initiative with AAOIFI and Refinitiv will deliver a full suite of treasury management and sukuk product options using the best available thought leadership and technologies setting a new standard for efficient market operations.  Refinitiv’s unique transaction execution capabilities are a natural fit for isecuritieshub;  the initiative will open new doors not only for treasury management but create a wider product development ecosystem for Islamic finance”.