IIRA reaffirms Sharia Quality Rating of JIB

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed the Sharia Quality Rating of Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB) at AA (SQR) for the eighth consecutive year for the bank’s high degree of adherence to Sharia principles and provisions through the Sharia governance infrastructure instituted at the bank that is largely in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) in the Code of Corporate Governance (CCG) for Islamic banks. The report issued by IIRA at the end of December 2016 indicated that granting this rating to  JIB, which is considered the oldest and largest Islamic bank in Jordan in terms of total assets , total deposits and finance and investment, is based on its sound application of governance practices according to the amendments made by the CBJ on the code of corporate governance for Islamic banks to ensure sound governance practices in line with the best international practices. JIB has a Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) that comprises of four members who are highly qualified and well versed with Islamic jurisprudence. The bank has also an independent sharia internal audit department that is separate from the internal audit department and reports directly to the Sharia Supervisory Board. In addition, the bank operates comprehensive training programs with specific reference to sharia related trainings for its employees, the bank continues to develop and innovate new products and participate in conferences and seminars that are related to Islamic banking industry. The report commended the bank’s conformance to the guidelines outlined by the IFSB with respect to transparency and disclosure in addition to its contribution to charitable purposes and initiatives towards social responsibility including its reliance on solar energy in some branches and offices, providing Al-Qard AlHassan for justified social purposes, providing donations and Mutual Insurance Fund to achieve social collaboration. Mr. Musa Shihadeh, CEO- General Manager of JIB said IIRA’s continuation to grant Sharia Quality Rating (SQR) for JIB is a confirmation of the distinguished status that our bank has in Islamic banking industry with respect to its conformance to the highest level of sharia quality standards which pushes us to exert more efforts to attain further achievements in line with the best sharia standards in accordance with principles of Islamic Sharia and the code of corporate governance for Islamic banks as adopted by the CBJ in order for JIB to be in the lead always. It is worth mentioning that IIRA  has reaffirmed the credit ratings of JIB on the international scale with foreign currency  at BB+/A 3 and local  currency at BBB-/A3.On the national scale, ratings have been reaffirmed  at A+(jo)/A1(jo). Outlook on the assigned ratings is stable.