Jasani Abdullah, once Hong Leong Islamic Bank's (HLISB) Head of Shariah and Product Development, has been appointed as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective July 17, 2017.

He becomes one of the first Islamic bank CEO that has also served as Head of the Shariah Department.

Regulatory requirements imposed on Islamic banks in Malaysia by Bank Negara state that they must have a Shariah Department to oversee Shariah-related products and services that will report to their respective Shariah Board of Directors.

And while many Islamic bank CEOs in the country were former bankers and have held various posts within their respective organisations, not many Islamic bank CEOs have led their respective Shariah Departments.

Jasani’s appointment as the CEO of HLISB marks an important milestone in the banking industry where former Shariah Department Heads can now be appointed to the highest executive office in their financial institutions.

Jasani has been with HLISB since 2007 when he first joined as the Head of Shariah and Product Development.

The position of CEO was vacated following Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz leaving that position to assume the post of CEO of AmInvestment bank Berhad late last year.

Throughout the years, he has assumed several senior roles including as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Acting CEO prior to being confirmed in his present position.

Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and CEO of Hong Leong Bank Berhad said, “Jasani brings a wealth of experience in Islamic Banking and has been a key part of the team that has made HLISB what it is today”.

And while HLISB celebrates the confirmation of their new CEO, the road to profitability remains unclear for one of the country’s smallest Islamic bank.

Moody’s published a report earlier this week to show that larger Islamic financial institutions can scale their businesses better than smaller ones, by leveraging their position against their conventional parent banking groups.

Financial institutions like Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank, and RHB, all have larger Islamic banks than Hong Leong Group because of their ability to get greater traction from the market.

READ: Moody's say MBSB merger is credit positive

Jasani’s confirmation as the CEO of HLISB finally enabled them to focus their attention on the road to profitability and improve on their financial position.

Jasani graduated with a Diploma of Public Administration from MARA Institute of Technology Malaysia and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ohio University.

He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Islamic Banking & Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).