Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME)

Made Today

بنك لندن والشرق الأوسط

A British Sharia-compliant bank based in London, incorporated on 7 August 2006 and authorised in July 2007, which was the largest Islamic bank in Europe in 2013; a Sharia Supervisory Board reviews its contracts, and Kuwait's Boubyan Bank is its majority shareholder.

Depth

At a glance

Region
al-Andalus & Europe
Identifiers
Wikidata

Trade and financeThe halal economy

In the Modern Islam Browser

Modern Islam BrowserEnterprise, brands and finance2006United Kingdom

Footprint

On Wikipedia in:en (read on 2026-11-06)

Wikidata:Q16827591

Summary

BLME (Bank of London and The Middle East) is an independent British Sharia-compliant bank headquartered in London; as of 2013 it was the largest Islamic bank in Europe. 1 It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 1

Founding

It was incorporated in London on 7 August 2006 as House of London and The Middle East and became Bank of London and The Middle East in July 2007. 1 Its founder and chief executive Humphrey Percy met the original sponsor, Kuwait's Boubyan Bank, with the shared aim of building a leading wholesale Islamic bank. 1 It received FSA authorisation in July 2007, and its second private placement in 2008 brought its capital base to £250 million. 1

Ownership

In 2020 Boubyan Bank acquired a majority stake in the bank's holding company; it held 72.37% as of 2024. 2

Sharia oversight and awards

From its foundation the bank has had a Sharia Supervisory Board reviewing its contracts and agreements, in addition to the conventional regulation of UK financial institutions. 1 Its awards include Islamic Finance News's Best Islamic Bank in Europe (2008) and Best Islamic Bank in the UK (2009 to 2013), and Global Finance's Best Islamic Bank in Europe in 2011, 2012 and 2013. 1

References

  • English Wikipedia, "BLME", revision 1380607448. 1
  • English Wikipedia, "Boubyan Bank", revision 1370109418. 2

People and things also explored

Islamic banks and conventional banks — the difference, the doubts and the performance· Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank· Alrajhi Bank· Alinma Bank· Bank Albilad· Dubai Islamic Bank· Dukhan Bank· Emirates Islamic

Sources

  1. BLME — English Wikipedia
  2. Boubyan Bank — English Wikipedia
  • Wikidata
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/listing/blme/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-06.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · Help complete it · JSON

Wing

Made

What Muslims make and own today: bookshops, publishers, apps, studios, brands and charities. Related

Islamic banks and conventional banks — the difference, the doubts and the performance

The two 'Al-Wasatiyya' episodes on Islamic banks. In the first, 56% of the studio audience said they could not define riba, 79% that they knew nothing of the murabaha, mudaraba, tawarruq and salam contracts, and they split into thirds on whether Islamic banks are free of doubt; in the second, 65% chose to buy by murabaha from an Islamic bank, 57% thought abolishing riba impossible while the world economy runs on interest, and 49% judged Islamic banks' social role weaker. The guests agreed that conventional bank interest is riba and differed over the existing Islamic banks.