REGULATING THE CONVERSION OF CONVENTIONAL BANKS TO ISLAMIC: THE 4 QUADRANTS CONVERSION (4-QC) FRAMEWORK

Abstract

This research paper proposes a framework for converting conventional banks to full-fledged Islamic banks as a catalyst for propelling the Islamic finance industry to Islamic Finance 2.0 by addressing the paucity of a regulatory framework for Central Banks to regulate this conversion. To address this, the paper proposes the “4Quadrants Conversion (4-QC) Framework” as a model framework for Central Banks to regulate the conversion process, consisting of twentyfour components classified into four quadrants. The proposed conversion involves leaving Shari’ah non-compliant activities and adopting Shari’ah permissible alternatives. This paper adopts a qualitative research method based on content analysis. The research findings suggest that the proposed regulatory framework can facilitate the successful conversion, resulting in a dual result of creating new Shari’ah-compliant entities and eliminating non-compliant entities. The proposed regulatory framework can also guide banks to plan, implement, and self-assess their progress to ensure a timely and less cumbersome conversion.

Keywords

• conversion
• transformation
• regulatory framework
• islamic bank
• conventional bank