Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: Insufficient Islamic Finance Professionals and Lack of Tax Neutrality Impede Islamic Banking in the Philippines

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Central Bank of the Philippines has identified insufficient Shariah academics or Islamic finance professionals and lack of tax neutrality as key issues in implementing Islamic banking in the Philippines.

According to the BSP, the main obstacle is the poor knowledge and capacity on Islamic banking and finance for regulators, industry participants as well as other stakeholders. In order to overcome this, the BSP has initiated measures such as introducing Frequently Asked Questions in Islamic banking.

In addition, the Deputy Governor of the BSP, Chuchi G. Fonacier, stated that the BSP has carried out an information drive to address common ques...