Deadlines for Masraf, the biggest Islamic bank in Qatar, to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Islamic Bank of Britian have been extended to the end of August as the latest deadline again lapsed as talks that have been ongoing since late 2012 continue.
The bank has struggled to make a profit in recent years and at the end of 2012 bosses revealed the lender would look at ways to offer more products.
In 2009 the bank attempted to boost business by targeting mortgage advisers, launching a website providing resources enabling them to re-sell the Islamic Bank of Britain’s range of Sharia-compliant home purchase plans and commercial property finance products.
It allowed registered intermediaries to submit leads and applications to the bank, track the progress of deals and have unlimited access to printable copies of product literature.
Yet in 2011 the bank reported a loss of £8.9m despite income from home purchase plans increasing 17.9 per cent to £2.3m.
