Gatehouse Bank appoints Mufti Muhammad Nurullah Shikder as Head of Shariah Advisory and Compliance

 

27th October 2008

Gatehouse Bank, the fully Shariah-compliant wholesale investment bank based in the UK, has further strengthened its senior management team by appointing Mufti Muhammad Nurullah Shikder as Head of Shariah Advisory and Shariah Compliance.

 

Muhammad and his Shariah Advisory and Compliance team are in a unique position to offer comprehensive Shariah Advisory services from an investment banking platform and will accordingly be able to benefit from relevant product support and in-house legal expertise.

 

Gatehouse Bank’s Shariah Advisory and Shariah Compliance Department will be providing Shariah services in the following core areas:  

 
Shariah Advisory:
  • Assisting with the structuring of Shariah compliant products and offerings and issuing the relevant Fatwa
  • Reviewing transaction documentation in accordance with the principles of Shariah
  • Providing general Shariah consultancy/advice on an on-going basis
 
Shariah Audit & Compliance:
  • Providing Shariah audit services
  • Reviewing executed transaction documents to ensure continuous Shariah compliance
  • Preparation of Shariah auditor’s reports
 
Shariah Training & Research:
  • Delivering training on Shariah compliant financing techniques, products, services and transactions to clients
  • Carrying out research in the field of Shariah compliant products, techniques and services in order to develop innovative products
 

Each core area will have dedicated team members to cater for the needs of the bank’s clients to ensure an efficient and streamlined service.

 

Prior to joining Gatehouse, Muhammad spent three and half years with Dubai Islamic Bank in the Shariah Coordination Department and worked closely with Dr. Hussain Hamid Hassan, Chairman of the DIB Shariah Board.

Muhammad has been involved in many transactions where innovative structuring and documentation was essential, including sukuks, Islamic funds, Islamic syndications and other corporate and retail products. He was also a trainer in Islamic banking and finance for Dubai Islamic Bank and other financial institutions in Dubai. He regularly attends and speaks at Islamic finance seminars and conferences.

 

In addition to being a member of Gatehouse’s Shariah Supervisory Board, Muhammad also sits on the Shariah Boards of Lloyds TSB, Alburaq of Arab Banking Corporation and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP).

 
David Testa, CEO, Gatehouse Bank, commented:
 

“We believe that this is a truly significant appointment - where one of the scholars sitting on our Shariah Supervisory Board also works full time for us as a key member of the executive team.  This places Gatehouse Bank in a market-leading position for Shariah Advisory Services by providing our clients with direct and immediate access to our Shariah scholars, whose knowledge and insight - as is well known – are central to Shariah-compliance.”

 

Mufti Muhammad Nurullah Shikder, Head of Shariah Advisory and Compliance, Gatehouse Bank added:

 

“Despite the current challenges facing banks, there is ongoing interest in Shariah-compliant financial products and services. Gatehouse, and the City of London itself, are very well positioned to play a central role in the growth of this area. I am very excited about the prospects of working with David and his team to help clients and bring further innovation to the market within the ambit of Shariah principles.”


For all media enquiries, please contact:

Sarah Boyce
Gatehouse Bank plc
Tel : +44 (0)20 3170 5558
Email : sarah.boyce@gatehousebank.com