Mohamed Boulif, a Brussels-based economist and Islamic finance consultant, plans to open a Muslim bank (NL) in Brussels, he told L'Echo.
Boulif, the former chairman of the Muslim Executive, contacted the big Belgian banks in order to see if they want to support hte project. If not, he intends to go ahead with financial help from the Middle East, specifically Qatar and Kuwait. Boulif already contacted the CBFA (Belgian Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission).
Meanwhile, in Norway, DnB NOR, Nordea and Sparebank 1 all say they're considering offering Sharia loans (NO). Thomas Midteide of DnB Nor told newspaper Klassekampen that within a year they could have sharia loans in Norway.
