Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank has removed the Islamic label from its brand, becoming simply "Noor Bank".
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According to the bank, the change will not affect the nature of the services offered, but rather is meant to increase its appeal to customers and aid its expansion.
Noor Bank will continue offering shari’a complaint products and upholding shari’a values such as the prohibition of payment or acceptance or interest charges (riba) for the lending and acceptance of money.
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By GlobalDataHussain AlQemzi, CEO of Noor Bank, told reporters at a press conference: " Our brand needs to reflect what we do."
He added: "Following a study over the last two years, we found that many of our customers already refer to us as Noor, and this rebranding makes our name direct, simple and easy."
AlQemzi also added that: "If you live the values of transparency, clarity and fair dealing – that’s what makes you a principled bank.
"It might make our job harder in some markets or communities but that’s what we want to do. We don’t want to hide behind a name"
In support of such choice, Al Qemzi also quoted some of the biggest and oldest Islamic banks such as AL Rajhi, Baraka and Kuwait Finance House that do not feature the label Islamic.
Credit and debit cards and sister companies (Noor Takful, Noor Trade and Noor Awqaf) are also going to be rebranded and the company is massively investing in advertising the new logo.
On December 2013, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice president of the UAE and constitutional monarch of Dubai, issued a decree to establish the Dubai Islamic Economic Development Centre.
Such plan is part of the strategy aimed at transforming Dubai into an Islamic economic hub and Noor Bank will follow the government’s project.
AlQemzi concluded: "Our aim is to link this market to other Islamic finance hubs in the worlds and our current focus is on Turkey, South East Asia and the Gulf Co-operation Council. We will not venture beyond at this present."
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