THE CENTRAL Bank met with representatives of the accounting firm KPMG on September 30 to discuss the potential for introducing Islamic finance services as part of the country’s financial sector development.
The meeting, held at the Central Bank in Port of Spain, included governor Larry Howai and KPMG officials Dushyant Sookram, country managing partner; Arnold Niranjan, advisory partner; and Khabeeda Abdool, advisory manager.
They were joined virtually by Pravin Manik, audit director at KPMG in Bahrain.
KPMG presented Islamic finance as an alternative that could support innovation, financial inclusion, liquidity management, foreign investment and domestic economic activity.
The Central Bank said the approach could help broaden and diversify both the economy and the financial services sector.
“The Central Bank believes that TT has an opportunity to pioneer regulated Islamic financial services in the region,” it said in a statement.
“The bank also sees this as an opportunity to broaden and diversify the economy and the financial services sector as a whole.”
Sookram highlighted the importance of regulation and depositor protection if such services are to be pursued.
“At KPMG, we are passionate about the possibilities that Islamic Finance Services can offer to the local community, and our next step is to engage other key stakeholders, including the government and the commercial banks and to complete a feasibility study to gain a comprehensive understanding of the market interest,” he said.
Howai welcomed the discussions and signalled the regulator’s interest in exploring new ideas.
“The Central Bank is committed to supporting forward-thinking initiatives such as the Islamic finance services model with the potential to be transformative for the financial sector and the country,” he said.
The bank said it intends to continue the initiative in line with its vision of fostering innovation, stability and growth in the national financial sector.