– alburaq, one of the leading providers of Islamic home finance in the UK, has announced today that the rental rate is falling by 0.94% across the entire range of mortgage products.

“The drop is possible due to the fall in rates recently and there is no question of us not passing on the full benefit to our customers,” said Keith Leach, head of alburaq at ABC International Bank.

“One of the requirements of Islamic finance is complete transparency, so it is important that all of our customers know how their monthly payments are calculated and what profit margins we apply for the entire life of a contract.  All of the banks margins are declared upfront and agreed in advance with our clients.”

The rental rate for the mortgage products is now fixed for the next six months. The rate is calculated twice a year against a benchmark of six month LIBOR on the 1st March and 1st Sept. alburaq’s Shariah Supervisory Committee have permitted the use of LIBOR to calculate rent, as this is a benchmark that is well known and easily available so that no dispute can arise when calculating rent.

alburaq’s Shariah compliant home finance and buy-to-let finance schemes have generated considerable attention from the Muslim community since launch and the fast growing Islamic mortgage market is predicted to grow to over £1 billion by 2009. With traditional interest-based mortgages out of the question for many, the only choice for home ownership has been either going against the faith, or avoiding a mortgage altogether until Shariah compliant products became available in the UK.

alburaq also provides the home finance products that are available through LloydsTSB and the Islamic Bank of Britain.

Customers can obtain further information by contacting the alburaq helpline on 0800 587 88 66 (free phone) or by clicking www.alburaq.co.uk