Table 1.
Islamic finance institutions and projects in Russia, 2010–2019.c
| Type | Name of the institution/project | Year of creation | Year of closing | Reason of closing/transformation (if any) | Region | Range and type of products |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microfinancea | Yumart Finance | 2010 | 2011 | Assets had been acquired by Amal FH | Tatarstan |
Mudaraba, Murabaha |
| Amal Finance House | 2010 (public opening in 2011) | – | – | Tatarstan and other Russian regionsb |
Mudaraba investment, Murabaha, Mudaraba financing Ijarah financing Salam financing Istisna’ financing |
|
| LaRiba Finance | 2011 | – | – | Dagestan |
Mudaraba investment, Murabaha, musharaka financing |
|
| Fincity | 2017 | – | – | Chechnya | Murabaha financing | |
| Banks | Bank Express | 2008 | 2011 | Bank's internal decision | Dagestan | Payment Card Murabaha (Hayat) Cardd |
| AF Bank | 2010 | 2012 | Withdrawal of a license from the bank | Bashkortostan | Payment Card | |
| Vostok Capital (“Islamic window” of Ellipse Bank) | 2011 | 2014 | Withdrawal of a license from the parent bank | Nizhni Novgorod, Bashkortostan, and Saratov | Current accounts, ijarah financing | |
| Moscow Industrial bank | 2015 | 2019 | Reorganization of the bank by the Central Bank of Russia | All Russian regions | Payment card for the pilgrims | |
| Centre for partnership banking (Tatagroprombank) | 2016 | 2017 | Liquidity issues as a result of the withdrawal of a license from the parent bank | Tatarstan |
Mudaraba investment, Murabaha, Mudaraba Financing |
|
| Sberbank | 2016 | – | – | Russian and international markets | Mudaraba financing, murabaha finacing | |
| Sovcombank | 2017 | 2019 | Bank's internal decision | Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and some other regions | A banking credit card based on qard hasan concept | |
| AK BARS Bank (branch) | 2019 | – | – | Tatarstan | Mortgage finance | |
| Investment companies | Tatarstan International Investment Company (TIIC) | 2010 | – | The company presently has no active operations | Tatarstan | Mudaraba, ijarah financing |
| Zayed Fund for entrepreneurship and innovation, LLC | 2017 | – | – | Chechnya | Mudaraba and musharaka financing | |
| Asset managers | BCS | 2007 | 2015 | Company's internal decision | All Russia | Asset management (mutual funds) based on mudaraba agreement |
| AK BARS Capital | 2019 | – | – | All Russian regions | Asset management (mutual funds) based on mudaraba agreement | |
| Mortgage finance | Zhilishchnye Traditsii (housing savings cooperative) | 2018 | – | – | Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Saint Petersburg | Mortgage finance (based on diminishing musharaka scheme) |
| Other | Eurasian leasing company | 2012 | – | – | Tatarstan and other regions of the Volga Federal District, Moscow, Saint Petersburg | Leasing (ijarah financing) |
| Microcredit Company Barakat | 2012 | – | – | Chechnya and other regions of the North Caucasus |
Murabaha, interest-free loans (qard hasan) |
|
| Euro-Policy Insurance company | 2012 | 2014 | Owners' internal decision | Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Nizhni Novgorod | Overseas travel insurance & other products |
It should be noted that a microfinance company mentioned in this article does not directly reflect the form of any microcredit or microfinance organizations as per the Russian Civil Code. Starting from 2017, a number of institutions commenced their operations in various Russian regions, specifically the republics of the North Caucasus, taking as an example the first-comers' models of work in providing Islamic finance services. Today their number exceeds 15, and they mainly work in the form of limited partnerships with a limited range of operations.
A wider range of operations is rendered in Tatarstan, whereas attracting investment and limited financing opportunities are available in Moscow, Moscow region, and some other regions of Russia. In some regions, there is a system of agents acting as representatives.
The Table provides a list of institutions rendering Islamic finance products and services regularly. Cases of one-time deals, such as tawarruq transactions, are not mentioned in the Table. The list also comprises only those institutions which claim Shariah compliance of their operations (products) and are generally acknowledged by the public. Projects that were announced but not started are also not included in the Table. Some Islamic finance companies, although providing data for the research, wished not to be mentioned in the article.
For more details on the underlying mechanisms of the bank's payment card and murabaha card see Juravliov (2013b).
Source: the author; the poll results & interviews conducted.