Enhancement of Islamic banking industry: a Sri Lankan perspective

Abstract

The modern Islamic banking industry has been growing in Sri Lanka since 1997 as an alternative banking system to the conventional one. Despite the fact that there are a number of hurdles with regard to its sustainability, it is growing significantly. However, it is imperative to take necessary steps to enhance the industry by expanding the application of Islamic banking products and introducing an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for Islamic banking disputes in accordance with the Shariah. Therefore, this paper aims at evaluating as to what extent Islamic banking products are currently in practice and which mechanism is being employed to resolve disputes that arise between Islamic banking institutions and their clients. This paper adopts a qualitative research method and content analysis in order to accomplish the objectives of the study. Primary sources such as the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988 of Sri Lanka, the Banking (amendment) Act No. 2 of 2005 of Sri Lanka, the Sale of Goods Ordinance No. 11 of 1896 of Sri Lanka, the Arbitration Act No. 11 of 1995 of Sri Lanka, the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 of Malaysia, resolutions made by the Central Bank of Malaysia, decided cases and various secondary sources are used to complete this research. The authors also conducted semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders. Hence, this study finds that there are various issues as well as challenges pertaining to the application of Islamic banking products and the dispute resolution mechanism. Currently, mudarabah, murabahah, musharakah and ijarah are practised by Islamic banking institutions in Sri Lanka. These products are marketed with numerous limitations. The study proposes various instruments based on respective concepts to expand the application of Islamic banking products. Similarly, the litigation has many disadvantages such as delay, costly, loss of privacy and prejudice to the business relationship. In the process of finding a remedy, arbitration is proposed by this study which can be an ideal alternative for the resolution of Islamic banking disputes.