Islamic banking UK: Islamic Bank of Britain re-branded to Al Rayan Bank as number of non-Muslim investors grows

The Islamic Bank of Britain has unveiled plans to change its name to Al Rayan Bank, as it aims to increase its presence in London and acquire a wider range of customers.

 

It will also update its logo and all other aspects of its brand identity across its website and UK branches. As long as shareholders approve, the new identity will be introduced in December this year. 

 

The IBB, which was set up in 2004, remains the UK's only sharia-compliant retail bank and has developed the largest range of related retail financial products in the UK. Earlier this year, it was acquired by Masraf Al Rayan (MAR) – the fifth largest Islamic bank in the world and the second largest in Qatar. 

 

As it enters its second decade of existence, the bank hopes to see through ambitious expansion plans, particularly in London where its commercial and GCC operations will be based. It has £100m of capital investment from its new parent company.

 

It will focus on corporate and real estate finance, and hopes to continue attracting a wide range of customers. The bank estimates that nearly 83 per cent of customers who opened a deposit account the bank between January 2013 and August 2014 were non-Muslim. 

 

Sultan Choudhury, CEO of IBB said, “IBB has pioneered British retail Islamic banking over the last 10 years, achieving global recognition for its outstanding successes.  The change to Al Rayan Bank represents the latest chapter in the Bank’s history, in which it will expand its retail and commercial product offering to a wider audience, with the backing of a strong and successful parent.”

 

The Bank will continue to operate as a UK regulated bank, and customers’ deposits will remain protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.