I believe this will culminate in Islamic finance leadership that is premised on ethics and professionalism. Islamic finance can then truly fulfil its key role in elevating the well-being of humankind, and not just for achieving halal profits. Towards Sustainability: The Role of Islamic Finance Islamic finance value propositions not only are consistent with universal and ethical values, but the economic aspirations are to elevate our overall well-being. Much of today’s discussion focus on as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Sustainable Responsible Investments (SRIs) that centre on impact-driven and value-added outcomes, in addition to being commercial2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  oriented. On this note, Malaysia is at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership with the Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) initiative that aims to create positive and sustainable impact to the economy, community and environment, without compromising the financial returns to shareholders. Our VBI journey has hit several key milestones. To date, 12 Islamic banking institutions have pledged to integrate environmental and social considerations in their offerings, practices and cultures. In facilitating this new journey, Bank Negara Malaysia will continue to collaborate with the industry to create an enabling environment for smooth and orderly transition. These include the issuance of several guidance documents such as the VBI implementation guide, VBI Scorecard and Value-based Impact Assessment Framework (VBIAF). More recently, the Bank and the VBI community of practitioners (COP) have embarked on efforts to develop sectorspecific guides on value-based impact assessment alongside sectoral experts.
In particular, they act out of self-interest or greed often at the expense of others. It is time to put this to rest. One can just take Islamic ethics as they are, and act as one say and as one mean. However, we should build on this, infuse it with a creed of professionalism that will provide its practitioners with not only a clear set of principles, but a sense of vocation to do what is right and to strive for the greater good and the betterment of the society to truly achieve the aspirations of maqasid al-Shariah. Let me share some further thoughts on this. In building such an ethos, we should always have in mind the basic or fundamental Islamic ethics that are also shared across many religions and societies. Such prescriptions lay out the fundamental basis of decency and behaviour. We cannot steal, cheat, lie, and act dishonourably. Principles that essentially guide us to be decent and in fact socially acceptable and responsible members of society. A natural component of this is ‘amanah’ or trust. As professionals, we should act as it is entrusted upon us, protecting the interests that we serve; our customers, shareholders, institutions, and sometimes this comes at personal expense. Trust is often called a valuable commodity. Indeed, it is even larger than that. Trust is a foundation or pillar of many relationships, including that of business and finance.