The Islamic Bank of Thailand (iBank) ( th, ธนาคารอิสลามแห่งประเทศไทย, ) was established in 2002. The bank is 48.54 percent owned by the Thai

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

, 39.81 percent by the

Government Savings Bank Government Savings Bank may refer to: * Government Savings Bank (Thailand) * The Government Savings Bank (1833), a historical bank in British India * Queensland Government Savings Bank, a historical bank in Australia {{Disambiguation ...

, and 9.83 percent by

Krung Thai Bank Krungthai Bank ( th, ธนาคารกรุงไทย; ), officially Krungthai Bank Public Company Limited, and sometimes known by its initials KTB, is a state-owned bank under license issued by the Ministry of Finance. KTB's Swift code is ...

. The Ministry of Finance's direct shareholding in iBank is capped at 49 percent, but shareholdings by other state-owned banks mean that the government controls over 98 percent of iBank shares. iBank's Swift code is TIBTTHBK. The bank's fiscal year runs from 1 January to 31 December. iBank operates in accordance with the principles of Islamic

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law as practiced in

Islamic banking and finance Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ar, مصرفية إسلامية), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economi ...

. It serves all customers regardless of religious affiliation.

History

The Islamic Bank is a state-owned enterprise and has 130 branches throughout the country (2015). It is set up under the Islamic Bank of Thailand Act 2002. It began operations in 2003. By the end of 2005 the bank had total of nine branches. The bank acquired the Shariah Banking Services of

PCL in November 2005. As a result, the number of branches increased from 18 to 27.

Performance

For the year ending 2014, iBank reported total assets of 109.7 billion baht. Net profit for the year was -9.5 billion baht.

Bailout

The management competence of state-run financial institutions such as the Islamic Bank has been called into question by critics who point to the

Finance Ministry A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

's injection of almost 20 billion baht into iBank to raise its registered capital. The intervention was required because iBank had accrued 50 billion baht in

non-performing loan A non-performing loan (NPL) is a bank loan that is subject to late repayment or is unlikely to be repaid by the borrower in full. Non-performing loans represent a major challenge for the banking sector, as it reduces the profitability of banks, and ...

s (NPL), half of all its loan portfolio.

References

External links

How Islamic banks differ
{{authority control Banks of Thailand Companies based in Bangkok State enterprises of Thailand