ISLAMIC BANKING AS ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL BANKS?

The increasing attention is paid to islamic banking that has become the most dynamic segment of the islamic financial assets' market. After the last world financial crisis the interest in it raised because islamic banks have not been hit by this crisis thanks to their principles. This banking model has got into Western Europe too. New islamic banks are founded there or the conventional banks establish the islamic windows. They want to satisfy the large islamic community to meet their financial requirements in accordance with the islamic law Sharia (Great Britain) or they want to attract the capital from rich Muslims in some cases they want to do business with the islamic states (Luxembourg). This year the establishment of the first islamic bank in the Eurozone named Eurisbank is expected. The aim of the paper is to describe the main principles of the islamic banking, the products that are exploited by the islamic banking and trend of its next development. Also comparation of the main features of the islamic banking with the conventional bank is investigated.