Background Material: Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR)

You can find additional information on the recently launched Thomson Reuters' Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR) through the various links below.  This includes the main Islamic Benchmark website as well as various PDF documents included below.


Further details can be found on the following topics:
- Background
- Definition, methodology & criteria
- Timing of publication
- Contributor Panel
- Governance

Specific PDF documents include:
IIBR fact sheet
IIBR FAQ
IIBR Governance Procedures 
Terms of Reference - Shariah Committee
Terms of Reference – Islamic Benchmark Committee
Shariah Opinion (English)
Shariah Opinion (Arabic)

Background Material: Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR)

Thomson Reuters launches the world's first Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR)

Thomson Reuters launches the world's first Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR)

This is a welcome development for the Islamic Finance industry:


'Thomson Reuters today launched the world's first Islamic finance benchmark rate, designed to provide an objective and dedicated indicator for the average expected return on Shariah-compliant short-term interbank funding: The Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR).'

Further details in the official press release.

Thomson Reuters launches the world's first Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR)

Harvard Islamic Finance Project DataBank

The Harvard Islamic Finance Project (IFP) website contains reports of IFP events for the past sixteen years and the Databank with over 9,000 records which include bibliographic information along with abstracts on articles, books, book chapters, conferences and theses relevant to the field of Islamic finance and economics. In addition to these resources, a collection of Quranic verses and hadith as well as a glossary of terms related to Islamic finance are included.


Users can register and access the Databank free of cost at http://ifp.law.harvard.edu. The IFP also features an option for users to submit their own published work or any relevant items via "Submit Your Work" option on the menu bar.


Many thanks to Muhammad Hassaan Yousuf for highlighting this resource.

Harvard Islamic Finance Project DataBank

Economic Performance of the OIC Countries and the Prospect of an Islamic Common Market

Economic Performance of the OIC Countries and the Prospect of an Islamic Common Market
By Kabir Hassan

Abstract: "This paper examines economic performance of the OIC member countries and analyzes the prospect of Islamic common market by analyzing trade data within a gravity model framework. There is scope of trade creation for OIC member countries if all impediments to trade and business can be eliminated. The paper also examines various sub-regional grouping within the context of gravity model, and finds that D8 comprising eight bigger OIC member countries is trade creating. For example, two countries in D8 block would trade 22 times more among themselves than two otherwise-similar country in outside the block would. The paper suggests a number of policy parameters which if followed will lead to more trade among member countries. The issue of Islamic common market should be examined further in light of new data and changed global perspectives. This paper is complements and extends Hassan (2002) and Hassan and Islam (2001), where similar conclusions were derived and policies were suggested."

Economic Performance of the OIC Countries and the Prospect of an Islamic Common Market