Deutsche Bank names managing director for sharia subsidiary

Deutsche Bank has appointed Humayon Dar as managing director of its global sharia advisory service, Dar Al Istithmar (DI). He will run the unit's London office, taking over from the previous managing director Stefan Kirsch, who moves to Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management division.

Dar has worked at DI since March 2005, most recently holding the position of senior vice-president. As managing director, he will attend all board meetings and report directly to the other directors. Prior to joining the sharia consultancy he was at the UK’s Loughborough University, where he founded and directed an MSc course in Islamic economics, banking and finance.

“Our goal is to be a high-end global provider of sharia advice to the institutions offering Islamic financial services through a continuous process of innovation in financial solutions and to develop into an international think-tank for the Islamic finance industry," Dar said in a statement. "We are operationally independent of our shareholders, including Deutsche Bank, and are set up to serve the sharia needs of the wider Islamic finance industry."

Deutsche is well know for its sharia innovations, and is believed to be the first bank to have developed an Islamic swap.