- Islamic finance for business customers grew 28% in the past 12 months.
- Strong growth comes as NAB extends eligibility to even more business customers.
- Your Discount Chemist has expanded its footprint with help of NAB's Islamic finance.
NAB's Islamic finance for businesses has grown 28% in the past year* as more customers seek out tailored financing options.
To help even more Australian businesses grow, customers can now use the Islamic finance option to acquire another business, purchase equipment and buy livestock, and will no longer need to use property as security.
NAB Head of Islamic Finance, Dr Imran Lum, said more business customers were interested in this type of financing, with the bank seeing steady growth since its launch back in 2021.
"More Muslim Australians are looking for business funding that fits their values and beliefs. The growth we're seeing shows just how much this offering has resonated with these customers," Dr Lum said.
"The Muslim community is so young and entrepreneurial, often living in fast-growing areas, and this finance option provides them with the support they need to take advantage of new business opportunities."
Leading growth in Islamic business finance by state*:
- NSW: 54%
- VIC: 34%
- QLD: 8%
"We're proud to be the only major Australian bank offering specialised Islamic financing for businesses, and we're excited to make it available to more customers," Dr Lum said.
"Not every business has property to use as security, that shouldn't stop them from accessing the finance they need to grow.
"It's also not just Muslim-owned businesses that are benefiting from this product. In many cases, we have financed non-Muslim businesses that have requested this type of financing because they have a Muslim partner or investors with a preference for Islamic financing."
NAB business customer Fawaz Khodary and his three brothers built Your Discount Chemist back in 1994, opening their first of now 13 stores in regional NSW.
With the help of NAB's Islamic financing, Fawaz and his brothers have continued to expand the pharmacy's footprint, recently constructing their first warehouse in Port Macquarie where most of their stores are situated.
"We were operating and coordinating inventory from the back of one of our stores, but we were losing sales because of limited space and stock," Mr Khodary said.
"Now we have a fantastic new warehouse. It was a big investment, but we'll now be able to keep up with demand, including the end-of-year holiday rush."
When Mr Khodary moved to Port Macquarie he took out a home loan with NAB before becoming a business banking customer. The close partnership he built with his business banker led to discussions about the bank's Islamic finance offering
"We're always looking for ways to innovate, so inclusive financing such as NAB's Islamic finance helps us continue to invest in our business in a way that aligns with our values and beliefs – definitely a game changer for us," he said.
