Shariah Investment Firms

Banks:

AIG

Includes:

Lexington Insurance Company
Imperial A.I. Credit Companies, Inc.
American General Finance, Inc. (AGF)
Consumer Finance Group, Inc.(CFG)
International Lease Finance Corporation

$1 trillion in assets around the world. The largest U.S. underwriters of commercial and industrial insurance, and most extensive property casualty network. Leading U.S. life insurer and premier retirment franchise with leadership in U.S. fixed annuities market.

Voted Best Takaful Company in 2008 at the International Takaful Awards in London.

Shariah Advisors:

Sheikh Nizam Yaquby from Bahrain
Mohamed Ali Elgari from Saudi Arabia
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani from Pakistan

Aribabank

Bank of America merger with Merrill Lynch

$45B bailout as of 1-14-09

http://www.sifma.org/news/news.aspx?id=8542

Merrill Lynch’s program is a platform from which it can share information about the growing Islamic finance market, and develop a competency in Islamic finance that will enable it to provide products and services that will meet the unique needs of Arab investors. Merrill Lynch’s Islamic finance events have varied in theme, size and scope, encompassing both its Global Markets and Investment Banking (GMI) Group and its Global Wealth Management (GWM) Group. In January 2007 a dedicated Islamic Finance team at Merrill Lynch launched a state-of-the-art Islamic Finance Platform which leverages the firm’s global derivative franchise and global structuring capabilities across asset classes worldwide to provide our Islamic institutions and individual clients with access to all conventional derivative and financing products, and Sharia-compliant products. The firm has hosted several women’s educational events over the past two years. In April 2008 Merrill Lynch created an Islamic Certificate Program dedicated to the issuance of Sharia-compliant investments, and in June 2008, Merrill Lynch launched a West Asian, Middle Eastern and North African (WAMENA) Professional Network.

Barclays Bank

www.barclays.com/www.barclays.co.uk

*No Info on Shariah on main sites

First to put together $250mm Shariah Hedge Fund deal.

Articles:

"Shariah Compliant Products for Islamic Customers":

http://www.barclays.com/sustainabilityreport07/nps_casestudy2.html?AddToPrintBasket=true

Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays Bank PLC and one of the leading investment banks in the Middle East, has ranked number one in the Islamic bonds Underwriter League Table.

http://www.barcap.com/sites/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=d63786437d052110VgnVCM1000001413410aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1c6c15cd3f4f8010VgnVCM1000002581c50aRCRD

Awards:

January 2008 - Barclays Capital wins five Deal of the Year awards at the Islamic Finance News awards.
November 2007 - Absa Islamic Bank is recognised as the best Islamic bank offering within a conventional bank in World Finance magazine’s first global awards. A division of Absa, majority owned by Barclays
May 2008 - Barclays Capital has named 'Best Islamic Bond (Sukuk) House' by EMEAFinance magazine.

Branch Bank and Trust

Blackstone Property Finance

http://www.black-stone.co.uk

Mission: “Blackstone Shariah Finance is a division dedicated solely to providing Shariah Compliant Property Finance. It was established due to a growing need to provide an ethical alternative to interest based property finance, to both the muslim and non muslim market.”

Citicorp - wholly owned subsidiary,
Citi Islamic Investment Bank

www.citicorp.com

http://www.citibank.com/ciib

The #1 lead arranger of Islamic loans, Bonds and Credit Derivatives, completed more than $7.0B Islamic Transactions in last 5 years. U.S. TSY just agreed to give Citi $27B and an agreement to back about $306 billion in loans and securities.

Complete description of Citi Bail Out: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1861904,00.html

Citi Islamic Investment Bank, (United Arab Emirate) a Citigroup subsidiary, offers innovative Islamic Banking solutions to investors as well as fund takers. It has years of experience in developing short-term trade based as well as medium to long term project and corporate finance based Sharia'a compliant financing solutions. The Middle East Corporate Finance unit works closely with Citi Islamic Investment Bank to bring this expertise to its clients.

Citi Islamic Investment Bank E. C. (“CIIB”) http://www.citiislamic.com/ciib/homepage/ was incorporated in July 1996 in Bahrain, as a 100% owned subsidiary of Citicorp Banking Corporation. CIIB operates as the dedicated Islamic Banking vehicle of Citi and is continuing the pioneering and innovative role that Citi has been playing in the industry for almost 25 years, through Islamic Finance windows within Citi.

Citi is the #1 lead arranger of Islamic loans, bonds and credit derivatives.

Citi Islamic Investment Bank’s core Islamic banking business has been the origination, structuring and distribution of Islamic banking transactions in trade finance, structured trade finance, leasing, fund management and Islamic securities. Issuers from many countries including Brazil, Korea, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, South Africa, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have been introduced to the Islamic banking market. CIIB has achieved an annual turnover of several billion US Dollars in Islamically structured assets by drawing on its knowledge of the Islamic banking market, its strong investor relations and the global presence of Citi. Going forward, with a proven track record, a reputation for product innovation and an even stronger global Franchise of Citi, CIIB remains uniquely positioned to best serve the needs of Islamic customers through diverse investment alternatives.

Shariah Advisors:

Dr. Nazih Hammad (President)
Dr.Mohammed Eid Elgari
Sheikh Nizam M. Yaquby
Muhammad Taqi Usmani (recently removed from website)

Articles:

http://www.citi.com/citigroup/press/2007/070323a.htm
March 23, 2007 Citibank Berhad Offering Two New Islamic Products in Malaysia

Devon Bank

Goldman Sachs

In November 2009 Goldman Sachs and Citibank made Sukuk an American household name by teaming up with GE to create a $500 million Islamic bond.

HSBC

HSBC Amanah - Global Investment Bank division of HSBC group that created the first two Shariah Mutual Funds offered in the US.

http://www.hsbcamanah.com

2005: Shariah Innovation of year: HSBC Amanah Islamic Wealth Management offeres every kind of Islamic investment possible to date. Huge innovator of Islamic Insurance “takaful” product.

HSBC Amanah has won the following awards:

Euromoney Awards:

Best International Provider of Islamic Financial Services (2004)
Best International Sukuk House (2004)
Best Islamic Wholesale Bank (2005)
Best for Private Banking Services (2005)

Best Sukuk Issuer (Aug. 2009) (http://www.worldfinance.com/news/home/awards/article720.html)

Shariah Advisors:

Sheikh Nizam Yaquby
Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari
Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani
Hussain Hamid Hassan
Muhammad Taqi Usmani (recently removed from website)

JP Morgan Chase

J.P. Morgan's Islamic Banking group is dedicated to developing new products and services that observe and respect Sharia-compliant ethical principles. Its main goal is to provide Islamic banking solutions to clients with increasingly sophisticated financing needs and requirements.

The market has seen a huge change in Islamic-tailored products and services and demand is increasing for the use of innovative capital market solutions alongside traditional bank loans. Investors are turning more to hedge funds and are adopting derivatives-based structured products. The development of the Sukuk, the Islamic equivalent of a bond, is also revolutionizing bond trading.

By leveraging our unique structuring platform and by accessing our unparalleled investor base, J.P. Morgan is leading the way in Sukuk financings. Our other Islamic services include:

Debt and equity capital markets
Investor product platform
Cash management and Murabaha liquidity products
Risk Management products
Asset Management Funds

UBS

http://www.ibb.ubs.com/mc/islamicfinance/sharia_principles.shtml

http://www.ibb.ubs.com

Founding member of the first Shariah Compliant stock exchange DIFX Dubai International Financial Exchange in 2005. UBS Islamic Finance started in 1998. Official Noriba Islamic subsidiary in 2002.

The US$300m offering for Maybank Sukuk Inc last year was named "Best Sukuk Deal of the Year 2007" by Euromoney and "Best Malaysia Deal 2007" by the Redmoney Group publication Islamic Finance News. http://www.ibb.ubs.com/News/feb08.shtml

Focus on “Wealth Management” claims to be #1 in world. May be the largest Islamic Banking operator in Europe.

Shariah Advisors: