For over a decade, Milbank has been at the forefront of the Middle Eastern finance market, starting with the first project financing in the region back in 1994. Since then our finance group has represented clients on a wide variety of project, asset and other financings which have been structured on a Sharia'h compliant basis and arranged for the benefit of Islamic investors.
In recognition of the growing importance of Islamic banking to our global finance practice, Milbank has established an Islamic Finance Business Unit drawing on the expertise of lawyers from our global finance, project and asset finance, leveraged finance and capital markets groups.
The lawyers in our Islamic Finance Business Unit are ideally positioned for Islamic finance related work and all have well-regarded expertise in this area. As legal advisors we have represented financial institutions and corporates actively involved in the development and documentation of Islamic financing transactions and are familiar with the processes necessary to develop and implement structures that meet the approval criteria of Sharia'h committees.
One of our key strengths lies in the ability of our lawyers to apply their knowledge and experience of complex structured financing techniques that have evolved in the bank lending and capital markets over recent years, and related industry expertise, in innovative ways in order to adapt them to suit the needs of Islamic institutions providing or requiring finance.
With the significant growth of the Islamic finance market has come the evolution of ever more complex structures. Islamic banks and investors are actively looking to develop and refine the Islamic finance system so that they can manage, allocate and package risk, using tools and mechanisms which have evolved in the conventional financing markets. However, these new techniques must be developed so as to comply with Sharia'h requirements.
It is in this respect that Milbank lawyers have demonstrated their ability to add value and assist international and Islamic banks and investors in the development of Sharia'h compliant products. Our lawyers have a deep understanding of the relevant Islamic principles and are able to combine this with extensive knowledge gained from our sophisticated conventional financing practice.