Thus far, the global financial crisis has had limited direct effects on Islamic finance. While Islamic finance by its very nature only engages in transactions that have underlying tangible productive activities, the slower overall growth and the increased uncertainties have affected pricing and activity in certain market segments. However, this in part reflects the shift in activity from the financial markets to the Islamic financial institutions. The scope of Islamic financial business has now expanded to more sophisticated financial products in response to the changing global customer base. Such Shariah-compliant products include private equity, project finance, the origination and issuance of sukuk, as well as fund, asset and wealth management products. The sukuk market in particular, has  2  BIS Review 136/2008  become an important avenue for international fund raising and investment activities. This market has expanded by an annual growth rate of 40%. The year 2007 saw an exceptional growth of the global sukuk market which expanded by more than 70%. New issues during the year reached a record high to about $ billion and the outstanding global sukuk market has now surpassed the $ billion mark. Up until August this year, it has held its ground with a total global issuance now exceeding $ billion, and is expected to exceed USD200 billion in 2010. This growth is spurred in part by the growing funding requirements in emerging market economies, in particular, in Asia and the Middle East. This is reinforced by the continued confidence of investors in the Islamic financial instruments.
Mugur Isărescu: Challenges to economic growth in the European Union – reforms for the future of Europe Opening speech by Mr Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, at the Conference “Challenges to economic growth in the European Union. Reforms for the future of Europe”, organized by the National Bank of Romania and the British Embassy, Bucharest, 29 September 2011. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished audience, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all here, at the National Bank of Romania, which tonight hosts a conference on a particularly interesting and up-to-the-minute topic: “Challenges to Economic Growth in the European Union. Reforms for the Future of Europe”, an event benefiting from the extraordinary support of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Bucharest. I am honoured to salute very dearly Mr. Vincent Cable, the British Minister for Business and Innovation. I also wish to extend my greetings to Mr. Martin Harris, the British Ambassador to Bucharest, and to the other diplomats. Ladies and gentlemen, Sustainable economic growth of both Romania and the entire European Union hinges decisively on economic policy consistency. Moreover, the global economic and financial crisis has proved to us yet again that there is no valid substitute for consistent economic policies. The correction of economic policy errors is, for all countries in the world, painful, often difficult to comprehend by the public at large and inherently delayed, but it is absolutely necessary.