Albaraka, the pioneer of the Turkish participation banking, obtained Murabaha syndication facility of $240 million in total. The Murabaha syndication facility has been realized with the participation of 22 banks and financial institutions from 14 countries, led by Noor Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and ABC Islamic Bank. The maturity of the facility is determined as one year. The agreement on the availability of the credit reaching a volume of $98 million and 108,5 million Euros was signed in a ceremony attended by the directors of the leading and participating banks of the consortium. Fahrettin Yah?i, general director of Albaraka, said they had used the syndication finance market for the first time and added: “As known, the resource structure of our bank is currently based on fund collection. Now, with the Murabaha syndication finance, Albaraka offers to Turkish entrepreneurs a credit facility with favourable conditions and prices. This new period enables our bank to work with a new customer base and different sectors.” Speaking on the occasion of the signing ceremony in Turkey, Hussain AlQemzi, Group CEO, Noor Investment Group and Noor Islamic Bank, said: “It gives us great pleasure to have successfully completed this joint dual currency Islamic Finance Syndicated Facility for Albaraka. The fact that the Facility has been realized by 22 banks and financial institutions, from 14 countries, reflects the quality of the transaction, and is testament to the confidence that the global financial community has in the Turkish economy and financial system.” The joint successful syndication by Noor Islamic Bank, outside of its local boundaries, reflects its strong international Shariah- compliant financial expertise. With over 100 branches, Albaraka provides support to the small and medium enterprises in their financial needs and offers the most favourable financing options for the companies' field of activity and financial structure. In 2010, Albaraka allocated to SMEs financing 45 percent of cash placement and 25 percent of the non-cash placement. Albaraka has also started this year the financing works supported by the Treasury in cooperation with Credit Guarantee Fund. As of September, Albaraka has become the bank that makes the most financing available to SMEs among the 20 banks within the program.
