Analysing Product Utilization by Islamic Retail Banks: The Case of Bahrain Islamic Bank and Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain

Abstract

Having its total assets to be estimated at USD 2.05 trillion as of 2017, the Islamic financial industry seems to have experienced a tremendous growth within a short span of time. The Kingdom of Bahrain has arguably been considered as one of the global Islamic financial hubs. Yet, a review of literature suggests that contemporary Islamic finance researches that use this jurisdiction as a case study seems to be minimal, indicating an existence of an imperative research gap. The purpose of this research was to partially fill this gap by analysing the main Islamic financial products utilized in the Islamic retail banking industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain, including the reasons for its utilization. This research qualitatively and empirically analysed the utilization of Islamic financial products by two Islamic retail banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain, namely Bahrain Islamic Bank and Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain. The findings indicate that murābaha, tawarruq, and ijāra muntahia bil tamlik are the main Islamic financial products utilized for financing purposes, while mudhāraba is the main concept utilized for the establishment of savings/investment accounts.