Maybank kicks off Islamic banking operations in the Philippines

It is the first commercial bank in the country to get an IBU license.

Maybank Philippines officially started Islamic banking operations in August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced in a statement posted on 4 September.

BSP gave its grant of authority to the bank on 4 July.

Maybank is officially the first commercial bank in the Philippines to get an Islamic banking unit (IBU) license.

It is the second Islamic banking unit (IBU) licensed by the central bank, the first being CARD Bank in June 2023.

An IBU is a division, department, office, or branch of a conventional bank that operates in accordance with Shari’ah principles, as per BSP regulations.