5^th October 2023, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain | Aligned with its role as an advocate of the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI), the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, announced that it has submitted its comments to the Basel Committee regarding its Consultative Document on “Revisions to the Core principles for effective banking supervision ("Core Principles").

The CD has been issued on 6^th July 2023 and was open for public consultation until 6^th October 2023

In its comments, CIBAFI thanked the BCBS for giving the opportunity to the IFSI to comment on the CD and provided collective feedback of its member banks from over 34 jurisdictions. CIBAFI’s comments comprised the following key points.

First, the updated "Introduction to Core Principles" improves comprehension of proportionality. However, banks still express concerns about the way proportionality is applied, particularly as the principles expand. Therefore, it is beneficial for the BCBS to offer more guidance to regulators on effective proportionality application.

Second, proportionality needs to evolve alongside emerging trends and new banking models like Neo Banks and Fully Digital Banks. It is advisable to conduct additional research to uncover specific considerations for applying these principles in the context of these innovative banking models.

Full comments submitted to the BCBS are available on CIBAFI’s website: http://www.cibafi.org.

In addition to Advocacy of Islamic finance Values and related Policies & Regulations, CIBAFI continues to support the IFSI through various activities and initiatives. These include providing industry stakeholders with a platform to discuss emerging issues, representing the industry at major global financial events, and sharing knowledge through specialized publications and comprehensive training programmes.