Standard Chartered Bank has relaunched the Shariah-compliant version of its online treasury (OLT) FX trading and hedging platform under its global brand for Islamic products, Standard Chartered Saadiq. OLT integrates into Stan Chart’s Straight2Bank trading platform. The bank says it is the first to launch online services in Islamic FX utilising the Wa’ad structure; this allows Islamic companies and institutions to hedge forward FX exposures under a Shariah-compliant structure.
“Being able to service clients’ FX requirements in a Shariah-compliant fashion is a key requirement in this region, particularly with the sharp growth in the number of corporates and institutions operating under Islamic principles,” says Ghazanfar Naqvi, head of Islamic products, Standard Chartered Saadiq.
“With rapid adoption of eFX services in the Middle East, it is also essential that our Islamic FX products can be delivered electronically alongside our conventional eFX offering. Bringing the Islamic OLT channel under the bank’s Saadiq brand also serves to unify our Islamic product base under a single name,” he concludes.