IFCs and Islamic Finance in a Changing Environment

Jersey Finance has contributed to IFN’s ‘Offshore Financial Centers 2026’ review, with an article examining how international finance centres (IFCs) can support Islamic finance as the industry navigates an increasingly complex global environment.

Written by Cormac Sheedy, Senior Consultant, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at Jersey Finance, International Finance Centres in 2026: Certainty in a Changing Environment considers how continued growth in Islamic finance is being accompanied by greater geopolitical, regulatory and operational complexity.

The article highlights the continued strength of the sukuk market, with S&P Global Ratings reporting global sukuk issuance of US$264.8 billion in 2025 and forecasting issuance of US$270 billion-US$280 billion in 2026. At the same time, wider uncertainty is increasing the importance of how and where cross-border structures are established.

Cormac explores how the growing involvement of sovereign wealth funds, banks, insurers, pension investors and family offices is raising expectations around transparency, governance, auditability and regulatory oversight. For IFCs, this means combining the flexibility needed to accommodate Shari’a-compliant structures with regulatory credibility, substance and effective governance.

The article also considers the increasing importance of jurisdictional diversification, as investors and institutions look beyond portfolio allocation to legal, custody and jurisdictional arrangements as part of longer-term resilience and succession planning.

Another key theme is tokenisation. Cormac points to Jersey’s evolving framework for tokenised real-world assets and considers the potential for tokenisation to widen access to assets, facilitate fractional ownership and improve transparency.

He also highlights the importance of ensuring technological innovation continues to be supported by robust legal, governance, custody and investor protection frameworks.

Looking ahead, the article identifies three areas for practitioners to watch: cross-border Shari’a governance, legal and operational interoperability and the development of skills spanning Islamic finance, private markets, digital assets, sustainable finance and international regulation.

Cormac concludes that the role of IFCs is increasingly centred on providing certainty, standards and connectivity in a more fragmented international environment, helping Islamic finance connect capital across jurisdictions while maintaining the governance and principles that distinguish the industry.

Read Cormac’s full article in IFN’s Offshore Financial Centers 2026 review.