April 16, 2009

Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Swiss-based bank which is slashing staff to offset losses, sees growth opportunities in Islamic finance and plans to expand in this market, its new head of Islamic finance said on Wednesday.Armen Papazian said he was named to the post by UBS Investment Bank 2-1/2 weeks ago with a global mandate to design innovative products."My appointment comes as a new commitment to take that business forward in line with the strategic targets of UBS and reemphasize that this is a strategic target of the bank," Papazian told the Reuters Islamic Finance and Banking Summit.

He declined to give any estimates, however, for growth potential in the sector, what products UBS plans or how much Islamic finance might contribute to UBS' bottom line.Switzerland's largest bank needs new revenue. On Wednesday, it announced first-quarter loss of $1.7 billion and said it is laying off 11 percent of its workforce.A number of banks are building up their Islamic finance units in the wake of the global credit crisis, tapping into a nascent industry estimated at $700 billion to $1 trillion in asset size and a 15-20 percent annual growth rate.