We will continue our enhanced credit support to the banking system, while taking into account the ongoing improvement in financial market conditions and avoiding distortions associated with maintaining non-standard measures for too long. Looking ahead, the Governing Council will gradually phase out, at the appropriate time, the extraordinary liquidity measures that are not needed to the same extent as in the past.
In the past decade the sector has grown strongly along with the number of licensees. Total assets jumped from $ billion in 2000 to $ billion by June 2009, an increase of over 12 times. The market share of Islamic banks correspondingly increased from 1.8% of total banking assets in 2000 to 11.1% in June 2009.