For the fourth consecutive year, Standard & Poor’s has been voted Best Ratings Agency at the International Takaful Awards 2011 in London, reinforcing its position as the leading rating agency for Islamic insurers.
Standard & Poor’s currently publishes research and ratings on 15 Takaful and Retakaful firms located in Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. In May 2011, it assigned ratings for the first time to start-up Islamic insurance companies Noor Takaful Family and Noor Takaful General, based in the United Arab Emirates.
“We are delighted to be recognized by the Islamic finance community once again for our ongoing commitment to supporting the development of the Shariah-compliant insurance sector,” said Yann Le Pallec, managing director of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“Receiving this award is clear recognition of the value that investors have placed on our sustained analytical focus on Islamic finance over a number of years, and Standard & Poor’s will continue to look for new ways to serve the needs of Islamic investors with independent and objective credit ratings and risk assessment products,” S&P in a statement said.
The International Takaful Awards are an initiative of the Middle East Business Forum and Afkar Consulting, with winners selected by a panel of Shariah judges, lawyers, journalists and practitioners from the world’s leading Islamic insurance firms.
Standard & Poor’s has also been named Best Rating Agency for Islamic Finance at the asset magazine’s 2011 Asian Awards. The Asset magazine targets the community of leading corporate and financial decision makers in Asia.