In Jakarta on 14 November 2019 at the IFSB Summit, the RFI Foundation launched the “Responsible Finance – Ethical & Islamic Finance: Meeting the Global Agenda Report” which investigates similarities between ethical and Islamic finance and provides recommendations to build upon the shared principles which link the two forms of responsible finance.
The Report also outlines important lessons to avoid a repeat of the global financial crisis of 2008 by focusing on forms of financial intermediations that can promote economic, social and environmental sustainability that are strongly anchored to the real economy.
The report provides several potential areas of cooperation including:
- i) Building greater awareness on the potential role of these forms of finance;
- ii) Leveraging on greater use of financial technology; and
iii) Incorporating a more structured approach to build a culture of ethics and trust in financial system.
According to Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Chairperson of the RFI Foundation’s Council of Advisors and former Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, who launched the Report, “a framework of cooperation for responsible finance outlined in this Report can support better articulation of the stated intent of both forms of responsible finance. The Report enables a more comprehensive approach to assess the impact of finance and the potential for these forms of finance to contribute to solutions for several of the challenges facing the global economy.”
The report is available for download at www.rfi-foundation.org