Nomo Bank sees increasing appetite for Islamic investments, ETFs

Interview

Jack Dutton

Aug 13, 2024

A man walks out of Bank Station, in The City financial district, in central London, on June 12, 2024. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images) — A man walks out of Bank Station, in The City financial district, in central London, on June 12, 2024. — BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images

LONDON — There is an increasing appetite among consumers who use Islamic finance banks to move into more specialized investments across different sectors, according to an executive at the world’s first fully digital international Sharia-compliant bank.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Paul Szumilewicz, chief revenue officer at UK-based Nomo Bank, said there is also growing demand from the bank’s clients to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — a pre-defined group of bonds, stocks or commodities poured into a fund and listed on the stock exchange.

Nomo Bank was established in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is owned by the Bank of London and Middle East, one of Europe’s largest Sharia-compliant banks, which is headquartered in the UK capital. Most of Nomo's customers are based in the Gulf, looking to set up a financial presence in the UK and Europe.

Currently, the digital lender offers day-to-day personal banking, savings and property finance, but it looks to extend its offering by moving into more specialized investments within the next two months, Szumilewicz said.