European Journal of Islamic Finance (Apr 2019)
ISLAMIC FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW MODEL
Abstract
Being the main function of any banking system, financial intermediation is defined in the Islamic economy based on certain parameters that confer on the organizations that operate it a particular financial activity and various objectives. Admittedly, the two theories of intermediation, whether conventional or Islamic, converge at the level of interposition between economic agents with a need for financing and agents with financing capacity to reach an optimal flow of funds; however, they differ as to the procedures put in place to ensure the function of intermediation. In other words, the Islamic financial intermediation has distinctive characteristics because, in addition to its economic vocation which shares it with its conventional counterparts, they support a social and ethical vocation constituting the specificity of Islamic banks in terms of intermediation. This paper focuses on the study of characteristics related to the financial intermediation of Islamic banks. It seeks to reconcile the theoretical approach of intermediation and the reality of Islamic intermediation while conducting a comparative analysis with that established by conventional banks. Alongside this analysis, we will present the inventory of financial risks specific to Islamic financial activity
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