failed to gain the investment are no longer best-sellers anyway. The number of banks with Shari’ah-compliant activity has continued to grow (according to figures from The Banker, the number of institutions registered for this form of banking rose from 525 to 675 between 2007 and 2011). However, the rate of growth appeared to have slowed and Shari’ah banking still constituted a small fraction (around one per cent) of the overall global financial market. Notable
in October 2012, HSBC effectively shut down its Islamic subsidiary, HSBC Amanah, thereby dismantling the largest cross-border window (the bank had already closed in Qatar when regulatory changes here banned Shari’ah windows). The Banker also pointed out, in late 2012, that of the 24 wholesale and investment banks in its top 500 Shari’ah bank ranking, almost half were loss making in 2011. The World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2013-14,
