Financial Software Systems has added support for Islamic Money Market instruments to Spectrum, its industry-leading Treasury application.
In conformity with Islamic banking principles, Spectrum now supports Profit Sharing (Mudharabah) instruments, Cost Plus (Murabahah) instruments and Repurchase (Bai' al-Inah) instruments. Support for Islamic money market instruments extends from deal capture in Spectrum's front-office to producing general ledger accounting entries in Spectrum's back-office.
Islamic banking is one of the fastest growing segments of the international banking market. The growth of liquidity in Islamic countries has generated strong demand for investment and financing vehicles that conform to Islamic beliefs. This demand, in turn, has generated interest in Treasury systems that can handle the unique requirements of Islamic banking. With the addition of support for Islamic Money Market Instruments, Spectrum is capable of supporting Islamic banking practices in tandem with traditional banking practices.
Michael Snoek, General Manager for Europe, the Middle-East and Africa for Financial Software Systems, commented, "The demand for Treasury systems that support Islamic banking practices is growing in both the Middle East and in Europe. Spectrum has previously been implemented for leading banks in Europe and the Middle East without the support of Islamic financial instruments. Now that Spectrum supports a wide array of Islamic instruments, we expect interest in Spectrum by Middle-Eastern banks to increase significantly. The introduction of support for Islamic Money Markets is a timely addition to the comprehensive coverage of Treasury products provided by Spectrum."
Michael Wee, General Manager, Asia-Pacific, for Financial Software Systems observed, "Islamic Banking has been a well-established feature in Malaysia since the passage of the Islamic Banking Act in 1983. Over the years we have seen the Islamic banking market mature in Malaysia. We now see Singapore and other banking centers in Asia taking steps to accommodate Islamic banking and offer offshore Islamic banking opportunities. In the last year Spectrum has been implemented for banks in Indonesia and Singapore, and with the addition of support for Islamic Money Markets we anticipate greater acceptance and adoption of Spectrum across the region."
Spectrum is a comprehensive Treasury system, providing straight through processing for a wide range of financial instruments, including foreign exchange, money markets, FX and interest rate derivatives, bonds, structured financial products, and equities. Spectrum provides complete front-office, middle-office and back-office functionality on a single SQL database.