In many of the Middle East’s economies, Islamic banking accounts for a major proportion of total banking assets and plays a central role in growth and development. McKinsey’s Islamic banking group, part of our global Financial Services Practice, serves many of the leading players. We have undertaken more than 50 major engagements on Islamic banking across the globe over the past 10 years—the majority of them in the Middle East.
We serve Islamic banks on all key strategic, operational and organisational topics, and we assist conventional banks in building Islamic banking businesses. Our work includes identifying national and international growth opportunities; helping set up new Islamic banks; and advising on acquisitions, spin-offs and strategic partnerships. We also help our clients strengthen end-to-end business models including customer segmentation, product portfolios, operating models and organisation design.
Our client work is backed by extensive investments in knowledge creation and thought leadership, including our proprietary Islamic banking database covering more than 60 banks in 15 countries across the Middle East and Asia. In addition to a core group of McKinsey partners with deep experience in Islamic banking, we offer our clients the perspectives of a panel of experts selected from major Islamic Banks and Investment Firms.
We work closely with the leading forums on Islamic banking. For example, McKinsey has served as strategic knowledge advisor to the Jeddah Economic forum—the pre-eminent regional conference in the Middle East, held under the patronage of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the Royal Court. We also authored, for several years, a report on Islamic banking competitiveness, in collaboration with the World Islamic Banking Conference.
