The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who officially launched the bank at a ceremony at its headquarters in Colombo, emphasized his confidence the bank can transform itself into a star in the local banking sector and that the Sri Lankan government was looking forward to its contribution to national economic and individual prosperity. Gov. Cabraal's optimism is not misplaced. The promoters of Amana Bank are seasoned Islamic bankers having operated Amana Investments, an Islamic finance company for more than a decade. Indeed Amana Bank has some important overseas shareholders including the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB); Albaraka Bank Bangladesh, which is part of the Bahrain-based Albaraka Banking Group, which is headed by Saleh Kamel; and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, the flagship Islamic Bank of Malaysia. Its main local shareholder is Akbar Bros. The Sri Lankan banking regulator does not dish out banking licenses willy nilly. In fact Amana Bank was the first bank to be inaugurated by Cabraal since he became governor in 2006. However, he could not have been more clear about the rationale why Amana Bank was authorized to carry out commercial banking business albeit on a Shariah-compliant basis, and of course subject to the provisions of the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988 and as amended by the Banking Act No. 2 of 2005. "We have set out the areas in which we are particularly looking to see new banks being formulated in Sri Lanka. We have been supporting new banking institutions to come in if they were to support the infrastructure developments in our country or if they were supporting remittances into the country or if it they were instrumental in providing finances and expertise to the SME sector. I think your overall vision and plans encompass all these three criteria and we are hopeful that you will play a very significant role in the economic development of our nation," Osman Kassim, chairman of Amãna Bank, who was instrumental in formulating the vision for the establishment of a fully fledged Islamic Bank fifteen years ago, reiterated that "Amãna Bank is eager to touch the lives of every Sri Lankan regardless of religion and race, and help drive the country toward achieving her full potential, especially in the context of new opportunities unfolding at this important phase of the country's history. We believe that Sri Lanka will benefit from this concept of (Islamic) banking in the same way it has helped to steer countries like Malaysia toward economic prosperity. We are also confident that the Shariah banking principles will lend greater stability to our economy."Islamic banking is in fact a concept gaining fast popularity and acceptance across the world. Guided by strong values and ethics the banking model has shown great resilience during the recent global economic downturn and as a result is now emerging as a popular alternative to conventional banking, said the bank in a statement. Perhaps it is not surprising that Amana Bank has adopted the catchphrase “It's Your Bank”, "It's Your Bank." To Faisal Salieh, CEO of Amana Bank, Islamic banking is not merely a "unique banking concept in line with everyone's faiths, principles and expectations", but Amãna Bank "will also bring a refreshing change to the way banking is practiced in our country, paving a new way forward." "We are no ordinary bank. We are different," explained Salieh. "Our differentiation lies in what we truly believe in. We believe that everyone has a right to be treated fairly; that one should not gain at the expense of another; we believe that being responsible and ethical is as important as making profits and gains; we believe that entrepreneurship should be encouraged and given a fair opportunity to succeed; and that the best of actions are the ones which create true happiness in people. All our products and services shall reflect the true values we believe in. They will be truly transparent, there will be no hidden costs nor small prints. That's our brand promise and that's how we will make the difference and stand out in the market space."The bank, which received its license earlier in 2011, is capitalized at Rs.3.4 billion (about $31 million), which is well above the minimum required regulatory capital of Rs.2.5 billion (about $22 million). According to Salieh, the potential market size for Islamic banking is about $1.5 billion. Amana Bank is part of the Amana Group, but which includes other entities as well in the Islamic finance space such as Amana Takaful. The latter has a wholly-owned subsidiary called Amana Global, which is helping to meet the human capital requirements for Islamic banking in the island state. Last month, Amana Global signed an agreement with the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM) to offer training in Islamic finance to meet the challenge of a huge shortage of Islamic financial professional services available to satisfy market demand and growth. "The move to launch such a program was driven by the emerging need for industry specific knowledge in the field of Islamic finance in Sri Lanka. Malaysia has been in the forefront of the development of Islamic finance and is known to be a hub for industry best practices and knowledge on the topic. Amana Global will work in partnership with First International Consultancy (Malaysia), which has experience in Islamic finance training," explained Fawas Farook, general manager, Amana Global. In the initial stage Amana Global, together with IBFIM, will offer short term courses to public and corporate entities. "We believe this approach will best suit the present need for learning and application due to higher levels of interaction and dealing with issues that are client specific," said Farook. Islamic finance is gaining momentum in Sri Lanka with many conventional banking and finance companies offering Shariah-based products. The growing acceptance of Islamic finance as a viable option for businesses and individuals alike meant there was a need for more competent people and awareness of the products. "We believe there is much capacity to be built to take Islamic finance forward through learning and practice. This is what we hope to achieve," said Farook.