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List of Islamic Banks in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, UAE
- This list of UAE Islamic Banks includes UAE based banks with UAE ownership. Banks in this list are dedicated Islamic banks. Some other banks in the UAE have divisions or accounts available which are Shariah compliant.
- Islamic banks and Sharia compliant banks refer to the same type of bank i.e. they follow Islamic principles with their operations, which usually means no collection or payment of interest (Riba), and no involvement in activities that are haram for example pork products, alcohol, gambling, pornography.
| Bank name | Head office | Founded | Branches* | Emirates | Capital* | Tel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) | Abu Dhabi | 80 (44) | AED 2.0 bn | +971-2-6100600 | ||
| Al Hilal Islamic Bank1 | Abu Dhabi | 12 (4) | AED 4.0 bn | 800-666666 (UAE) | ||
| Ajman Islamic Bank (Ajman Bank)3 | Ajman | 2008 | 9 (4) | AJM, AUH, DXB, SHJ | AED 1.0 bn | 800-2288 (UAE) |
| [×] Dubai Bank (DUB) (not Dubai Islamic Bank)4 | Dubai | [?] 1 (13) | AED 1.5 bn | +971-4-3365555 | ||
| Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) | Dubai | 69 (44) | AED 2.9 bn | +971-4-2953000 | ||
| Emirates Islamic Bank5 | Dubai | 62 (26) | AED 0.75 bn | +971-4-3160101 | ||
| Noor Islamic Bank (Noor Bank)6 | Dubai | 15 (11) | AED 3.2 bn | +971-4-4268888 | ||
| Sharjah Islamic Bank SIB2 | Sharjah | 33 (21) | AED 1.1 bn | +971-6-5681000 |
- Also seen referred to as Hilal Bank, Al Hilal Islamic Bank, Crescent Bank. Official name seems to be Al Hilal Bank.
- Previously called National Bank of Sharjah (NBS). Not related to Bank of Sharjah (BOS).
- Was initially called Ajman Islamic Bank when established but dropped the word Islamic from their name soon after, however still operates as an Islamic bank.
- Dubai Bank (DUB) is not related to Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB). Was not an Islamic bank when first established in 2002, became Sharia compliant in 2007. Taken over by Emirates NBD in 2011, and merged with Emirates Islamic Bank in 2012. The UAE Central Bank still lists Dubai Bank as having a single branch, but location and contact information not available.
- Renamed from Emirates Islamic Bank to just Emirates Islamic in November 2013 (or Emirates Islamic Group). Unclear why the name change to disassociate themselves from banking operations, they are still a bank.
- 07 Jan 2014 - Noor Islamic Bank rebranded itself as Noor Bank but said they are still an Islamic bank. Odd explantion given to explain why they wanted to make it less obvious they are an Islamic bank - a press release said it was to market themselves more to non-Islamic customer segments or something like that.
* UAE Central Bank data for number of branches 30 Jun 2019 (Jun 2008 data in brackets). Capital and tel numbers from Jan 2014 or earlier, not yet updated.
List of non-Islamic banks with Shariah compliant services
This is not a comprehensive list. Many banks in the UAE have some Sharia compliant accounts available. A [×] means Islamic banking longer available, or renamed, or merged, or was incorrectly reported as available.
- ADCB Islamic Banking: Islamic banking section from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). Not related to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). Merged with UNB in 2019 but name continued as ADCB.
- [×] Badr Al Islami: Renamed as Mashreq Al Islami.
- [×] HSBC Amanah: Islamic banking services ceased in UAE from 16 Oct 2013 (reference HSBC announcement). HSBC said they would stop offering Amanah Islamic finance products and services in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Singapore, Indonesia, Mauritius, UAE, and UK but continue to offer them in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Third-party Takaful and other Islamic financial products would continue to operate but could no longer be funded from an HSBC UAE Amanah account. See www.hsbc.ae/amanah or phone UAE 800-AMANAH (800 262624).
- NBF Islamic: National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) Islamic banking services.
- NBQ Islamic: National Bank of Umm Al Quwain (NBQ) Islamic banking services.
- Mashreq Al Islami: Sharia'h compliant banking division of MashreqBank. Started in 2006 or 2007 as Badr Al Islami, renamed to Mashreq Al Islami in 2010.
- [×] Middle East Bank (MEB) (UAE): Renamed or reinvented or something as Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) in 2004, part of Emirates Bank Group (EBG). Interestingly, a few months after news reports (Gulf News?) quoted an anonymous bank person as saying "... there is a remote chance of the EBG group going in for an Islamic bank". Iran founded a "Middle East Bank" in Oct 2012, it is not connected to the UAE based MEB (renamed as EIB), or EBG. Middle East Bank Kenya (founded in 1981) is also unrelated to MEB Iran or MEB UAE.
- [×] RAK Bank Amal: Rebranded as RAK Islamic starting Oct 2016.
- RAKIslamic: Islamic banking division of the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBank), started in Jan 2013 as RAKBank Amal, renamed in 2016.
- Standard Chartered UAE: Islamic banking offered through Saadiq accounts and products.
- [Merged with ADCB in 2019] UNB Islamic Banking Group (UNB-ISBG): Shari'ah compliant products and services from Union National Bank in Abu Dhabi.
About Islamic (Sharia compliant) banking
None of the information in this section should be assumed to be legally accurate, or representative of any bank policies. This is only a very basic introductory guide, and is not official information from any bank or religious authority.
Islamic banking and Sharia compliant banking mean the same thing. Islamic banks follow 2 guiding principles.
- Charging and paying interest on loans and deposits is prohibited under Islamic law. Riba is Arabic for interest. Paying or collecting interest is known as usury, although usury is sometimes understood as the charging or payment of excessive interest.
- Investing in businesses that are haram is prohibited according to Islamic law. Haram means something that is unlawful or contrary to Islamic values. This would include businesses that trade in products such as pork, alcohol, pornography, or businesses that are involved in services that involve gambling or prohibited products.
The basic principle is that for deposits and investments which generate a profit, customers and the bank share the profit, and the bank will distribute funds according to a Profit Rate, instead of charging interest which is what non-Islamic banks do. Similarly, for loans and credit cards, the customer will be charged additional fees which are calculated according to Islamic principles. Some of the more commonly used financial instruments are
Ijara (leasing)
An Ijara arrangement is where the customer leases or rents an item or a service. The Ijara agreement will specify the rate and the length of the contract.
Mudaraba (profit sharing)
A Mudaraba arrangement is when the bank will provide money to a customer which the customer plans to use to generate profit, for example setting up a business, and both the bank and the customer then share profits generated, according to the terms of the agreement.
Murabaha
Murabaha is a loan arrangement where the bank buys an asset for the customer and the customer repays the bank with regular payments that include an agreed profit margin, along with any other associated costs. The additional payment can be calculated and stated as an annual profit rate.
Last update Monday 07-Oct-2019. Page development 1H 2T 3D 4L
Related pages
- Academy of Islamic Bank - new institute for degree courses in Islamic finance, might be open by 2011.
- List of UAE banks
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