Islamic Bank of Britain
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| Public | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Birmingham and London, UK |
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Number of locations
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13 branches and offices |
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Key people
|
Sultan Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
| Products | Banking |
| Revenue |
 GBP10.3 million (2015) |
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GBP21.3 million (2015) |
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Number of employees
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200 |
| Parent | Masraf Al Rayan |
| Website | www.alrayanbank.co.uk |
Al Rayan Bank plc (formerly known as Islamic Bank of Britain) is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom, established in August 2004 to offer Sharia compliant financial service products to customers of any faith. The bank has branches in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester and agencies in Blackburn, Luton and Tooting. It is the first British bank claiming to operate, in its entirety, according to Islamic principles. The bank welcomes people of all faiths and is becoming increasingly popular with non-Muslims, looking for an ethical alternative to conventional banks.
The bank states that has five values: Sharia compliant, community oriented, secure, good value and pioneering. Faith is an important factor for the bank, and accordingly branches briefly close on Friday afternoons to allow the staff to attend Jummah (Friday) prayers. The bank also has a Sharia department and an independent Sharia Supervisory Committee to ensure that its products are compliant with Islamic teachings.
As of 2015 Al Rayan Bank serviced 60,000 customers.
Islamic Bank of Britain was formed by a group of investors from the Middle East to take advantage of the growing market for Sharia compliant financial services in the UK. In July 2002, consultants and advisors were employed to confirm if such type of bank was needed and if it would be accepted by the Financial Services Authority, FSA.
Potential investors were invited, mainly from the Persian Gulf, who put together a private placement document which allowed the company to raise £14 million in start up capital by early 2003. In the same period, its first Managing Director, Michael Hanlon was recruited. Later that year, a draft business plan was proposed and formal application to the FSA was submitted.
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Wikipedia