Financial Outlook of the OIC Member Countries 2016
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INTRODUCTION
Financial system is an important component in an economy since it helps the funds in the
economy into channeling productive business opportunities. People have different needs in
saving their funds into the system. Hence, having diversified financial system with banking,
capital markets, insurance and Islamic finance products is important. This diversification is
also necessary for those who need to invest in their projects and consumptions, ensuring the
availability of products with different collateral provisions and maturity.
In the early phases of economic development, the banking system usually dominates the
financial system. As economies develop, capital markets, insurance sector and derivative
markets are seen to be essential parts of the financial system. As part of financial inclusion,
Islamic finance also helps people to participate in the financial system.
As a broad regional international organization, The COMCEC is one of the four standing
committees of the OIC which is responsible for enhancing economic and commercial
cooperation among the Member States. Since the commencement of its activities in 1984,
COMCEC has initiated many programs and projects towards improving financial cooperation
among the OIC Member States. In addition, the COMCEC Strategy identified financial
cooperation as one of the major cooperation areas of the COMCEC and envisaged the
establishment of the Financial Cooperation Working Group as an important instrument for
strengthening financial cooperation among member countries.
Furthermore, cooperation among the Stock Exchanges, Capital Market Regulators and Central
Banks and Monetary Authorities of the Member States are other crucial ongoing endeavors in
the field of financial cooperation under the COMCEC.
This report aims to present the status of financial systems in the OIC member countries. Hence,
the report would give a necessary background on the Financial Cooperation Working Group
works and helps to spot cooperation areas.
This Outlook comprises of five sections. First section covers banking in the OIC member states,
by relying on Bankscope database by Bureau van Dijk. Second section covers capital markets
for which the source is COMCEC Stock Exchanges’ Forum, led by Borsa İstanbul. Third section
gives a general assessment of financial systems of the OIC member states, prepared by relying
on World Bank Global Financial Development Database. The fourth section addresses Islamic
finance industry. The fifth section underlines the cooperation efforts under the COMCEC
strategy and the ongoing activities under the COMCEC in this field.