Al-Amanah Islamic Bank


The Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines or Al-Amanah Islamic Bank is the first and only Islamic bank in the Philippines.

History

Al-Amanah Islamic Bank traces its roots to the Philippine Amanah Bank, established by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 264. With an initial capital of 100 million pesos, it was one of the world's first Islamic banks. Its charter originally mandated it to provide financial services to the provinces of Basilan, Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Palawan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, where there are large, if not predominant, Muslim populations.
In 1974, the bank's charter was amended by Presidential Decree No. 542, allowing it to open branches in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat. The amended charter also mandated that the bank provide banking services according to Islamic principles, which was not explicitly provided for under the original charter.
In 1989, the bank was re-chartered and re-capitalized pursuant to Republic Act No. 6848, and was subsequently renamed the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, with a capital of one billion pesos. Between 1990 and 2007, the bank was under the supervision of the Bureau of the Treasury.
The bank was sold to another government-owned bank, the Development Bank of the Philippines, in 2008. However, in 2012, DBP announced that it intended to divest itself of the bank, since it does not have the expertise to handle an Islamic financial institution.

Ownership