Russia’s Biggest Lender Spots Greater Role for Islamic Finance in 2022

Russia’s state-owned Sberbank anticipates a greater role for Islamic Finance in 2022 after its subsidiary, Sber Asset Management rolled out Russia’s first Shariah-compliant Exchange Trade Funds (ETF), named Halal Investments in November 2021. The halal ETF comes right after two newly Islamic indices (MOEX Shariah Index and MOEX Shariah Total Return Index) were launched, which it helped design with Moscow Exchange (MOEX).  

Why It Matters 

According to Behnam Gurbanzada, Chief Islamic Finance Officer at Sberinvest Middle East (Sberinvest ME), the ETF is based on the MOEX Shariah Total Return Index which was created by MOEX and Sberbank. The index contains 15 of the most heavily traded stocks by Russian companies on the MOEX. The objective is...