By Andrei Skvarsky.
The corporate university of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, plans to launch a course on Islamic finance in a few months’ time, one of the bank’s top managers has announced.
Oleg Ganeyev, senior vice-president of Sberbank, made the announcement at a Russian annual Islamic economic forum in Kaspiysk, a city in Russia’s predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan.
The course, to be taught by Russian and foreign lecturers, would address various areas of Sharia-compliant finance, including banking, investment, capital market transactions, insurance and accounting.
Those who have completed the course are going to receive a certificate from Global Islamic Financial Services (GIFS), an audit, advisory, accounting, investment management and corporate finance firm headquartered in Durban, South Africa, with offices in Dubai and Istanbul.
Ganeyev also said Sberbank plans to open its first Islamic finance branch in Russia as a pilot project before the end of 2022. The branch would be located in Kazan, the capital of another chiefly Muslim region, Tatarstan, he said at the Kaspiysk event.
It would offer a range of products, including investment instruments, trade finance, management of current and payment accounts, and settlement.
If the branch project is a success, Sberbank would consider setting up other Islamic finance branches.
Russia has a large Muslim community.
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