Too Many Islamic Banks

Dato' Sri Zukri Samat, Managing Director of Bank Islam, outlines how he has turned around the business, and his plans to grow the SME lending business. Right now 70% of the loan portfolio is in individual loans. He believes there are too many Islamic banks in Malaysia although the central bank has been giving out more Islamic bank licenses. For Bank Islam, he thinks there could be synergies merging with a bigger bank like Maybank, currently the biggest Islamic bank in the region. He also explains that the main difference between Islamic and conventional banking products is in the documentation of agreements.