Excerpt:
CAIRO — As Islamic finance and banking products continue to grow and attract more clients, Switzerland, a world financial hub, will soon get its second Shari`ah-compliant bank in less that two years.
"There is demand," Ibrahim Dabdoub, chief executive officer of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) which plans to set up the new bank, told the Financial Times on Monday, March 31.
NBK applied for regulatory approval to set up the bank with a Saudi partner, Dabdoub said.
The Islamic institution, set to be launched before the end of year, will target investors and wealthy individuals from the Gulf region, which is currently awash with liquidity fueled by the windfall from unprecedented, sky-high oil prices.