Fairer shares for Muslims

Stockbroker Redmayne Bentley is to launch a sharedealing service aimed at Britain's Muslim population, traditionally poorly served by UK financial institutions.

It is being unveiled next week and will comply with Islam's Sharia law, which forbids the payment or receipt of interest. Traditional sharedealing services can be problematic because they can involve holding cash on deposit earning interest.

The launch coincides with moves by the government to look at making it easier for Britain's 3 million Muslims to obtain mortgages that comply with their beliefs.

Islamic mortgages involve a bank purchasing the property, then selling it on to the buyer and collecting instalment payments.

Instead of charging interest, the bank might, for example, sell the property on at a higher price. But because ownership of the home transfers twice, stamp duty is charged twice. This tends to make Islamic mortgages more expensive and the government has acknowledged there would seem to be some unfairness.

Senior members of the Muslim community and the mortgage industry this week called on the government to change the law to help make home ownership more accessible and affordable for Britain's Muslims.

Earlier this year, a report from analysts Datamonitor claimed that the market for Islamic financial products is set to grow hugely. It is seen as a lucrative market - it's estimated Britain may have more than 5,000 Muslim millionaires with liquid assets exceeding £3.6bn.