Rethinking Islamic Finance

Ayesha Bhatti is an Assistant Professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and completed her master’s degree in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford, UK. Ayesha has been associated with the LUMS Centre for Islamic Finance since its inception in 2015 and has served as the Director of Training and Chair of the Centre. She teaches in the area of Financial and Managerial Accounting at LUMS and has written and taught several case studies in this area as well as on Islamic finance. Saad Azmat is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan. He completed his PhD in Accounting and Finance at Monash University, Australia and a master’s degree in Economics from University of British Columbia, Canada. At LUMS he has served as the Associate Dean of Research, Director of PhD Program, and the Founding Chair of the Centre for Islamic Finance. He teaches courses in the area of Islamic Banking and Finance to undergraduate, master’s and PhD students at LUMS.

Acknowledgments; Preface; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: The Paradox of Risk Sharing; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Islamic Instruments; 2.3 The Dominance of Debt Based Contracts; 2.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 3: Freedom From Interest; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Islamic Instrument Structures; 3.3 Convergence of Conventional and Islamic Banking Rates; 3.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 4: Financial Crisis and Islamic Finance; 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Islamic Banking, Financial Intermediation, and Risk Sharing; 4.3 Implications During Financial Crisis; 4.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 5: The Little Difference Between Sukuk and Bonds; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Sukuk Structures; 5.3 Determinants of Credit Ratings of Islamic Bonds; 5.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 6: Issuer’s Choice of Islamic Bond Type; 6.1 Introduction; 6.2 Islamic Bond Structures; 6.3 Theories of Capital Structure; 6.4 Implications for Islamic Financing Choices; 6.5 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 7: Risk in Risk Sharing Sukuk; 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Credit Risk in Risk Sharing Bonds; 7.3 Structural Credit Risk Models; 7.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 8: The Challenge of Shariah Compliance; 8.1 Introduction; 8.2 The Complexity of Shariah Compliant Structures; 8.3 The Agency Problem in Islamic Banks; 8.4 The Shariah Certification Dilemma; 8.5 The Role of the Regulator and Shariah Conscious Investor; 8.6 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 9: Replicating Conventional Finance; 9.1 Introduction; 9.2 Instrument Structures; 9.3 Behavioral Explanations; 9.4 Implications for Investor Preferences; 9.5 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 10: Can Islamic Banks Have Their Own Benchmark?; 10.1 Introduction; 10.2 Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR); 10.3 IIBR-LIBOR Benchmark Rates and Convergence; 10.4 Determinants of the ‘Piety Premium’; 10.5 Empirical Analysis; 10.6 Conclusion; Chapter 11: Islamic Versus Conventional Equities; 11.1 Introduction; 11.2 The Structure of Islamic Equities; 11.3 Diversification Benefits; 11.4 The Performance of Islamic Equities; 11.5 A Theoretical and Empirical Perspective; 11.6 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 12: Charity in Islamic Banks – A Distinguishing Feature?; 12.1 Introduction; 12.2 Penalty Versus Charity; 12.3 The Size of the Charity Pie; 12.4 Charity Contribution Versus Asset Size; 12.5 Social Distribution of Charity; 12.6 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 13: Rethinking Islamic Finance: The Limits of Our Understanding; 13.1 Introduction; 13.2 Pillars of Islamic Economics; 13.3 Barriers to Understanding Islamic Finance; 13.4 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 14: Rethinking Islamic Finance: An Ethical Perspective; 14.1 Introduction; 14.2 Rethinking Islamic Finance – An Ethical Framework; 14.3 Integrative Social Contract Theory; 14.4 Rethinking Islamic Finance Through ISCT; 14.5 Way Forward; 14.6 Concluding Remarks; Chapter 15: Conclusion; Bibliography; Index