The IFSB membership reflects the growing interest among the Islamic financial services industry's stakeholders in the work of the IFSB

• The IFSB admits 10 new organisations to its membership (two full members, eight observer members) and upgrades an associate member to full.
• The IFSB members now total 185 organisations comprising 43 regulatory and supervisory authorities, six international inter-governmental organisations and 136 market players and professional firms operating in 35 jurisdictions.

Kuala Lumpur, April 21, 2009 - The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) membership continues to expand, with the admission of 10 new organisations. In its' 14th meeting held recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Council of the IFSB has resolved to admit 2 new regulatory and supervisory authorities as full members, and 8 new financial institutions as observer members. This brings the IFSB membership to 185 members operating in 35 jurisdictions.  

The 19-member Council was chaired by H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jasser, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. It was attended by the President of the Islamic Development Bank, nine central bank governors and six governors' representatives.

Dubai Financial Services Authority was upgraded from an Associate to a Full Member, while the newly admitted members are:

Full Members: 
1.        Central Bank of Nigeria 
2.        Qatar Financial Markets Authority

Observer Members: 
1.        Deloitte Corporate Advisory Services, Malaysia 
2.        Etiqa Takaful Berhad, Malaysia 
3.        Maybank Islamic Berhad, Malaysia 
4.        Barwa Bank, Qatar 
5.        Woori Investment and Securities, South Korea 
6.        Islamic Insurance Company, Sudan 
7.        Al Hilal Takaful Company, United Arab Emirates 
8.        Moody's Middle East Limited, United Arab Emirates

Given the growing interest of the industry's stakeholders in the work of the IFSB, Secretary-General, Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim expects a more diverse composition of the IFSB membership in the years to come. Rifaat said, "The number of regulatory and supervisory authorities in the IFSB membership tends to reflect a growing interest among them in the work of the IFSB which aims to enhance the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry. Meanwhile, the admission of international rating and accounting firms in the IFSB suggests an awareness of these firms' potential role in supporting the development of the Islamic financial services industry as well as their appreciation of the benefits of being members of the IFSB." He added that with the new admissions, the 185 members of the IFSB comprise 43 regulatory and supervisory authorities, six international inter-governmental organisations and 136 market players and professional firms from among the banking, Takâful and Islamic capital market sectors of the financial industry operating in 35 jurisdictions.

The diverse membership in the IFSB form a useful pool of resources from which the IFSB draws expertise in developing its standards and guiding principles.

The full list of the 185 IFSB members can be seen on www.ifsb.org. Their roles and responsibilities (by category) are detailed in the IFSB Articles of Agreement which is downloadable from the website.