Libya
The Central Bank of Libya's laws page lists Law No. 46 of 2012, which added an Islamic banking chapter to the banking law, and a 2013 law on banning interest-based transactions. Arab Islamic Investment Bank is in the central bank's commercial bank directory, and its own site offers savings and investment accounts it describes as following Sharia principles.
Five checks
Banking rulesFound
The Central Bank of Libya's laws page lists Law No. 46 of 2012, which amends Banking Law No. 1 of 2005 and adds a chapter on Islamic banking, and Law No. 1 of 2013 on banning interest-based transactions. Article 1 of Law 1/2013 (scanned PDF, read as an image) bans charging or paying interest in all civil and commercial dealings. The Central Bank also published an Islamic Banks Governance Guide (Nov 2023) covering a central Sharia supervisory board and bank-level Sharia boards.
- “بشأن المصارف وإضافة فصل خاص للصيرفة الإسلامية”
Central Bank of Libya - “القانون 1 لسنة 2013 بشأن منع المعاملات الربوية”
Central Bank of Libya - “المادة 100 مكررة 2 من القانون رقم 46 لسنة 2012”
Central Bank of Libya, Banking Supervision Department · 2023-11 - “دليل حوكمة المصارف الإسلامية pdf”
Central Bank of Libya
Licensed banks and windowsFound
- مصرف الإستثمار العربي الإسلامي (Arab Islamic Investment Bank) · full bankحساب التوفير (Savings account)حسابات الاستثمار (Investment accounts, business)
- مصرف التمويل الإسلامي (Islamic Finance Bank) · full bank
- مصرف الضمان الإسلامي (Al Daman Islamic Bank) · full bank
- مصرف السراج الإسلامي (Al Siraj Islamic Bank) · full bank
- المصرف الإسلامي الليبي (Libyan Islamic Bank) · full bank
- “المصرف : مصرف الإستثمار العربي الإسلامي”
Central Bank of Libya - “خدمات مصرفية متكاملة، بحسابات إسلامية بالكامل”
Arab Islamic Investment Bank - “تقدم حسابات التوفير فرصة مثالية لتحقيق أهدافك المالية على المدى الطويل بطريقة متوافقة مع الشريعة الإسلامية”
Arab Islamic Investment Bank
Sukuk issuedNot checked
Takaful (non-interest insurance)Not checked
Not checked properly. The insurance supervisory authority's site was not reached, and a web search found no takaful-specific law or licensed takaful operator.
Capital market rulesNot checked
Not checked. The Central Bank hosts Capital Market Law No. 11 of 2010, but it was not read for Islamic provisions, and the securities regulator's site was not reached.
Still open
Points we could not confirm at source yet.
- Was Law No. 1 of 2013 later amended or suspended? Not verified.
- The Central Bank directory is undated and Libya has rival authorities; which banks are fully operating now is not confirmed.
- Four of the five banks are recorded as Islamic from their names and the directory only; their own sites could not be read.
- Islamic windows in conventional banks were not checked.
- Sukuk, takaful and capital-market Islamic rules were not checked.
Where we searched
- cbl.gov.ly: laws page (pages 1 and 2), commercial banks directory, Islamic Banks Governance Guide PDF, Law 46/2012 and Law 1/2013 PDFs (both scanned images; read visually)
- aiib.ly: home, individual and business services, about pages (downloaded)
- ifb.ly (Islamic Finance Bank): page is a JavaScript app; only the title was readable
- dib.ly, sib.com.ly, lib.com.ly, lib.ly: no connection
- Web search for Libyan takaful rules (nothing specific found)