BML Islamic has observed a boost to their assets and finances as support grows for Islamic Banking options among Maldivian communities,
Bank of Maldives (BML) first established their BML Islamic branch to provide Islamic financing options to their customers in 2015. Since then, BML Islamic's assets and finances have seen a stead and significant growth as more and more Maldivians have begun opting for Islamic finance when banking.
In addition to the banks physical branch networks and offices, ATMs and POS terminals, customers of BML Islamic can acquire services from the BML Internet Banking portal and the bank's mobile banking platform as well.
Bank of Maldives notes that while total financing has increased for BML Islamic over the last three years, a similar increase has been observed for the amount of money being deposited into Islamic Banking accounts in that period. According to BML, accounts specialized for individuals and private businesses under BML Islamic Banking have accumulated MVR 1.02 billion in deposits by the close of last year, following a boost observed between 2018 and 2020.
BML Islamic had issued a total of MVR 1.07 billion in financing by the end of 2020, 92 percent of which was dedicated to purchase and build housing by customers of BML Islamic. Four percent of the year's financing had been reserved as financing issued in working capital to guesthouses and other private businesses. With the introduction of Shariah-complaint financing schemes over the years, a net increase of 19 percent has been observed for BML's Islamic Banking arm.
In addition to this, BML Islamic has noted an influx of customers since 2018 as they continue to introduce convenient financing options for customers. The bank notes that 45 percent of the bank's current customers are those who joined newly and subscribed to various services through the bank.
BML continues their efforts to provide information about the products and services available through BML Islamic to customers of the bank who may be interested in acquiring them.