KARACHI, Nov 29: The Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has appointed State Bank Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar as its deputy chairperson for 2007 and chairperson for 2008 in a meeting held in Jeddah on Wednesday, said a release issued by the SBP.

The SBP governor attended the 9th meeting of the IFSB held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The IFSB Council approved the appointment of Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia, as chairperson and Dr Shamshad Akhtar as the deputy chairperson of the IFSB for the year 2007. Dr Shamshad Akhtar will be appointed as chairperson for the year 2008.

A number of important decisions for developing the Islamic banking industry globally and setting standards for providing broad guidelines to be followed by the institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS) were taken at the meeting.

The council approved the guiding principles on corporate governance for the IIFS. The council also decided to admit the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia as a full member and 14 new observers, besides upgrading the membership of ADB from observer to associate member.

The council also considered a 10-year framework for the development of the Islamic financial services industry for providing guidelines to the national authorities in designing master plans and initiatives to develop their domestic Islamic financial services industry as part of their national financial sector development policies.

On a suggestion of the SBP governor, the council decided to have an intensive consultation with the market players before finalising the framework.

Dr Shamshad also visited the Central Bank of UAE and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and discussed with them bilateral matters relating to the banking sector and enhancing cooperation to strengthen the banking supervision in their respective countries.