Social reporting practices of the islamic bank of britain

Islamic banks are said to possess ethical identity because their social goals are just as important if not more important than financial goals because of the fact that they are based on religious foundations, i.e. the Islamic Shari’ah which has as its ultimate goal, the betterment of society. Islamic banks are thus expected to portray a high level of corporate social responsibility which would be evident in their social reporting practices as evidenced in their annual reports. This study replicated the Haniffa and Hudaib study by examining the social reporting practices of the Islamic Bank of Britain made through its annual reports against an ideal level of social disclosures that an Islamic bank ought to make, over the years 2005-2009. The findings revealed that at present, the Islamic Bank of Britain has much more in common with its conventional counterparts than it does with banks that are supposedly based on Shari’ah. Indeed, the core dichotomy expected between an Islamic bank and a conventional bank in relation to Islamic ethics was not clearly shown.