UFANA Conference Successfully Showcases Growth and Potential of Islamic Finance in North America



TORONTO – April 5, 2010 – The Canadian market is ready for Islamic Finance concluded global bankers, politicians and lawyers who attended the Usury Free Association of North America (UFANA) conference in downtown Toronto last week.


Senior representatives from four of the five big Canadian banksattended the conference, as did representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Finance who are busy preparing reports which will be shared internally on the growth and potential of this alternative financing industry. Among the other dignitaries in attendance were representatives from the Ontario Division of Federal Trade Commissioner's Office and the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) both preparing soon to be released reports. 

“Islamic financial products should not present any particular difficulties under Canadian accounting standards,” says Guy David, a speaker at the conference representing the Canadian law firm Gowling, Lafleur Henderson LLP.  Mr. David helped write an 88-page study which was done at the direction of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., in association with his law firm. 


The conference was very well received as close to 300participants attended the two-day affair. Over 30 speakers shared their insights into one of the world’s fastest growing financial industries as experts from Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, UK and Italy all spoke on the huge potential of Islamic finance globally and in Canada. Many presenters were also invited to speak at the ninth annual Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance held at the storied university's law school just prior to the UFANA conference.


The conference was sponsored by 12 institutions, including some of North America’s most successful Islamic financial firms: Guidance Residential, which has financed just under $2 billion in Islamic residential mortgages in the United States;University Islamic Financial Corporation (USA) – which offers an Islamic finance window in its conventional bank; and Canada’s leading Islamic financial institution, UM Financial.


Bay Street law firms Cassels & Brock chaired the day- long session on Capital Markets, while Gowlings and Blakessponsored and had legal experts at the conference. Allen and Overy, Scotia McLeod and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank were other noteworthy sponsors.


UFANA Conference 2010 included announcements by UM Financial regarding its advising role in the possible issuance of close to $2 billion in Sukuk, its multicultural bank project and the official launch of the iFreedom Plus MasterCard. 


The morning session on the first day was opened by Liberal MPP and Ontario Liberal Party President and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Revenue, Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre). Attendees were also welcomed by federal NDP MP Brian Masse (Windsor West).


Keynote addresses were given by retired United Church Minister Reverend Lindsay King. The conference included leading Shariah scholars such as Sheikh Nizam Yaqoobi (Bahrain), Dr. Aznan Hassan (Malaysia) and Mufti Barkatullah (UK). Islamic economist Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqui was also present.


The conference spurred media attention on Islamic finance, withthe National Post covering the product launch of the iFreedom Plus MasterCard on the front page of its Wednesday edition andInvestment Executive publishing a feature online report on the conference.


Experts at the conference appeared on CBC News Network, CBC Radio, Radio-Canada, OMNI News and the Business News Network. Meanwhile, reporters from Dow Jones, Reuters, Forbes, Canadian Business magazine, Religion News and other outlets will be covering the event in their future issues. UFANA’s website will be updated with a quarterly newsletter, presentations and video of the lectures over the next week.


UFANA also hosted a community event attended by over thirty community leaders on Monday night and held a free public event on Tuesday night which was attended by close to 200 people.




MEDIA COVERAGE:


Investment Executive:

BNN (TV):
Investing in Gulf Bonds

 

CBC Radio:

iFreedom Plus MasterCard on Metro Morning (Toronto)

 

Radio-Canada (French TV):
Une carte compatible avec l'Islam

 

CBC.ca:

MasterCard offers card aimed at Muslims

Montreal Gazette:

Muslims disconnected from retail banking

 

Ottawa Citizen:


Edmonton Journal:

MasterCard offers card aimed at Muslims

 

Vancouver Sun:

MasterCard offers card aimed at Muslims

 

Anglican Journal:

 


TESTIMONIALS:

"This was an important conference that deepened our understanding of Islamic finance.  We appreciated the opportunity to hear from highly-regarded Shari’ah scholars and from leading practitioners in law and finance."

- Patrick Deutscher, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Economist, Office of Economic Policy, Ontario Ministry of Finance


"As the editor of the UFANA newsletter, I was very impressed with the conference and it was well organized and well attended. It was one of the more stimulating Islamic finance conferences I have attended. There will be more information, including all of the presentations with video available on the UFANA website shortly. It is an honor of mine to work with an organization working to promote Islamic and other usury-free financial services within North America and one of my most interesting conversations was with the Rev. Lindsay King who shared his interpretation of the Biblical verses in Deuteronomy that restrict interest-based lending by Christians and Jews. I look forward to continuing to work with UFANA as the organization builds on this recent conference."

- Blake Goud, North American Islamic Finance Expert


"Over the past few days, I've described the conference to my friends and family as an amazing experience with a lot of useful takeaways. I benefited greatly from the breadth of topics covered and the invaluable advice provided by the speakers and other attendees who have made strong strides in this field around the world. Thank you for all organizing such an amazing event and bringing together such a fantastic panel of speakers."

- Sumaiya Tasneem, Consultant, Enterprise Risk, Deloitte


"I would like to thank you for the scholarship to participate in the UFANA conference. The experience was very enriching and beneficial, and best wishes for the conference and the organization."

- Omar Gamel, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto