Islamic banking has strongly emerged as an efficient and effective financial intermediation channel, forming an integral part of the overall Malaysian financial system. Today, we have developed a comprehensive Islamic financial system covering banking, Islamic insurance, the money market and capital market, that operates in parallel with the conventional system. Islamic banking now accounts for 10 percent of the market share of the total banking system. There has been a rapid expansion in the development of Islamic financial instruments. At the global front, Malaysia was the first country to issue a sovereign Islamic financial instrument launched in the international financial markets. The capacity of the Islamic banking institutions to arrange and offer products with attractive features and competitive pricing, which are comparable to the conventional products has been enhanced. While Islamic finance was first introduced to meet the needs of the Muslim community, today, the Islamic financial products and services have wide appeal to both Muslim and non-Muslim customers. The Malaysian Islamic banking institutions operate under a robust regulatory and supervisory framework at par with the conventional banking institutions to ensure the soundness and stability of the system. At the international level, the establishment of the Islamic Financial Services Board will further harmonise the international prudential and regulatory standards for the Islamic financial institutions on a global basis.
The development of the venture capital industry, a better framework for SME financing and the provision of micro financing continue to be important priorities to ensure that credit is made available to all segments of the economy, as well as to support the growth of new areas and industries. Increased focus on developing these financing modes has been supported with higher public sector budget allocations for the venture capital industry and for specific development financial institutions to channel micro-credit to small micro-enterprises. Priority has also been accorded to investment in information and communications technology by the banking sector. With the completion of the consolidation exercise, domestic banking institutions have actively embarked on upgrading their systems, including in product delivery, risk management and information systems. The adoption of technology in the Malaysian banking system has predominantly been to automate business processes. However, more recently technology has been used as a tool to assess and drive business performance. With competition in the market becoming increasingly intense, the ability to understand the drivers of performance and the ability to make prompt response is vital to remain competitive. Business delivery channels and business processes have also been reviewed to enhance efficiency levels and service quality to the customers. Many have formed strategic alliances with partners to enrich their value proposition to their customers through cross-selling of products and services. Indeed, the Malaysian banking industry has now become more consumer-centric.