The board reviewed the progress of the Waqf Fund in the last quarter and expressed its satisfaction on the successful completion of various training programs. The training was conducted by BIBF, a partner organization, and was aimed at capacity building of Islamic banking professionals and Shari’a resources at Islamic banks under the Graduate Sponsorship Program, Shari’a Reviewer Development Program and Advanced Diploma in Islamic Commercial Jurisprudence Program. The board also reviewed the 2011 audited accounts.
Following the board meeting the Waqf Fund held its Annual General Meeting in which 15 member institutions participated. The members were given a round-up of the Fund’s activities during the year. The AGM approved the 2011 audited accounts. The Chairman of the Waqf Fund and Executive Director, Banking Supervision at the CBB Khalid Hamad requested the members to provide their valuable feedback to further improve the working of the Waqf Fund.
“The Waqf Fund has enhanced its enabling role by supporting the industry in various ways during the last year,” Khalid Hamad, said.
“We are supporting the University of Bahrain in their Bachelor of Arts in Shari’a for Banking and Finance, a recently launched four year bi-lingual program aimed at producing capable human resources for the Islamic finance industry who are well-versed in Shari’a as well as banking, finance, accounting and business. We are also supporting Shaikh Isa Library in augmenting their Islamic finance section to facilitate researchers and general public alike,” Hamad, added.
The AGM elected a new board upon the expiry of the 3-year term. The Chairman thanked the outgoing board members for their dedication, commitment and contribution towards the Waqf Fund’s success in the last three years. KHCB, Venture Capital Bank and Sakana Holistic Housing left the board and were replaced by Al Baraka Group, Bahrain Islamic Bank and National Bank of Kuwait. The Chairman welcomed the new board members.