10 Jan 2022 By Know Muslim
When you've read all the frustrating news, commented on it, then look at the other side of the picture and the other side of the coin. You will know that the biggest exercise in the world to convert interest bank into Islamic bank has taken place in our country.
Alhamdulillah, Faisal Bank of Pakistan is about to become a complete Islamic bank with its more than 600 branches. 98% of Faisal Bank's branches have become Islamic, only 2% of the branches have to be converted to Islamic. Out of billions of Muslims living in the world and 57 Islamic countries, this honor was written for our Pakistan that the bank with hundreds of branches is leaving its conventional banking and converting to Islamic bank.
You may think that converting an interest bank into an Islamic bank would be an easy task, but not at all. Faisal Bank is actually a subsidiary of Asmar Bank of Bahrain. Faisal Bank had earlier bought ABN Amro Bank. Clients who came from ABN Amro also had to convert their accounts to Islamic. Converting a running bank is as difficult as changing the tires of a moving vehicle. The other big challenge is to keep the bank from losing money. Because if there is a loss, everyone will immediately start emptying their account. If even a rumor spreads, destruction will begin. Therefore, it is as if the tire of a car running at 100 speeds has to be changed and its speed should not be reduced.
A survey shows that 20% of people in Pakistan will prefer to die instead of taking interest. About 60% of people prefer non-interest-bearing banks if they do not see much difference in rates. The remaining 20% are those who do not consider banking interest as interest. So, when the bank started converting to Islamic Bank, we had to ask every account holder that we are converting his account to Islam. Even a large number of educated people in Pakistan, when talked about such steps, fall for the unnecessary whispers. The challenge here is to change the accounts of millions of clients. Every client had to be contacted. Then the branches spread across the country had to be converted to Islamic. This was not a simple task. For branch conversion, SBP's policy is to write a letter to each customer one month before the conversion, to which they can answer yes or no. Then provide each customer with a description of the Islamic method of financing and what will happen to their account. Then you have to advertise in the newspaper.
Then notice has to be posted in the branch. Then all the customers have to do is send an SMS. Letters will be sent to them again after 15 days. In our country, people do not read or reply to bank emails, messages, etc. Therefore, reaching out to each and every customer, getting answers from them is a chore. Faisal Bank went through all these stages during the conversion process and more than 99% of the account holders accepted this process wholeheartedly. It is a record in itself that millions of people accepted it when they found a legitimate alternative.
The biggest challenge is to convince the bank staff. The bank staff is in the thousands and the entire staff is an expert in conventional banking. The most difficult step is to train everyone, to teach them Islamic banking, to make them practice and to change their minds. But when the servant decides, he gets help from Allah. Those who work hard will be rewarded. Whoever fears Allah, Allah Almighty opens the way for him. As a result of this hard work, 80% of Faisal Bank's assets have become Islamic. 98% of the branches have become Islamic. Faisal Bank has become the second largest Islamic bank in Pakistan.
Information regarding Muslim World and Pakistan.
