HBZ Bank SIRAT HBZ Sirat Islamic Investment Certificate (SIIC)

Heritage and model. HBZ Bank Limited is the South African arm of Habib Bank AG Zurich, the Swiss-incorporated bank founded by the Habib family, whose name has been synonymous with South Asian trade banking for generations. Operating in South Africa since 1995, HBZ delivers Islamic banking under the group's global Sirat brand through window operations, Islamic branches and a dedicated Islamic banking branch, concentrated where its clientele lives: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape. It is a registered credit provider (NCRCP8) and licensed financial services provider (FSP 52829).

Deposit products. The Sirat Islamic Current Account runs on named Qard (customer as lender, bank as borrower, balance guaranteed and CODI-insured), supports multi-currency operation and serves residents and non-residents, with Apple Pay and Google Wallet cards, SMS alerts and PayShap transfers. The Sirat Islamic Savings Account names its Mudarabah roles (bank as Mudarib, depositor as Rab-ul-Maal). The Premium Call Account offers five notice tiers (48 hours, 7, 32, 60, 92 days) with no minimum balance, daily profit accrual, monthly payout and stackable notice requests, and admits companies, trusts and partnerships. The Sirat Islamic Investment Certificate (1, 3, 6, 12 months) adds a monthly-payout option at 12 months and, uniquely in SA, can secure Islamic facilities as collateral.

Financing and trade. HBZ's financing shelf runs on Diminishing Musharakah: commercial property finance, Income Generating Properties finance (with an explicit Shariah-permissibility screen on the property's use), asset finance for equipment, and vehicle finance for commercial vehicles, applying the equity-sharing gold standard where competitors use Murabaha or plain Ijarah. Trade finance uses Sirat Al Bai and Murabaha structures with Islamic letters of credit, guarantees, receivable financing and import/export finance executing across the Habib group's international network, so an importer's LC from Karachi or Dubai stays compliant end to end.

Shariah governance. Governance is two-layered. Globally, Sirat products are approved under Habib Bank AG Zurich's Shariah framework, whose board is chaired by Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, founder of Amanie Advisors and one of the most recognised Shariah scholars in the world. Locally, a dedicated team, Mufti Muhammed Ismail Haffejee (Shariah Advisor) and Moulana Ibraheem Mulla (Shariah Quality & Assurance Officer), oversees governance and conducts regular Shariah compliance audits of the South African window. The bank's product pages consistently name their governing contracts, a discipline even Al Baraka does not always match page by page.

Protection and regulation. HBZ is a registered South African bank under SARB Prudential Authority supervision and FSCA licensing. Qard current balances are CODI-insured up to R100,000; Mudarabah products share profit and sit outside par-value cover. NCA protections apply to credit products under its NCRCP8 registration.