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Muslim SMEs 'now able to bank in line with faith'

Published On 3 April 2007 at 08:53:13

Muslims who own small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to gain access to banking services which comply with their faith's rules in the future.

Lloyds TSB has announced that it is launching the first high street Islamic business bank account in the country.

Under Islamic law (Shariah), SMEs should not pay or receive interest on their money. Equally, Muslim SME owners are prohibited from investing in certain things, such as gambling or alcohol.

To help the estimated 100,000 Muslim-owned firms in the UK, the bank has created a business account that offers no interest and no overdraft facility, but does provide all the other services normally available to corporate clients.

Owners of Islamic SMEs welcomed the move. Shazia Saleem, 23, a British Muslim entrepreneur who is establishing her own Halal food business, explained: "It means a lot to me that I now have the option of banking in line with my faith.

"Islam is a way of life for me and I know that once I have got my business off the ground it is going to be a huge part of my life, so is important that I am comfortable with every aspect of the way it is run."

Mr Saleem added that, until now, Muslim SME owners "have had limited choices when it comes to financing their business ideas".

Gordon Brown's recent budget was praised by people for including moves to facilitate Islamic finance in the UK.

Deloitte said that the changes would "meet the financial needs of the Muslim community as well as, increasingly, non-Muslim investors".

 

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