Section 6January 26, 1990, Sec./Art. 6

Islamic Bank's Powers. - The Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, upon its organization, shall be a body corporate and shall have the power:

(1) To prescribe its bylaws and its operating policies;

(2) To adopt, alter and use a corporate seal;

(3) To make contracts, to sue and be sued;

(4) To borrow money; to own real or personal property and introduce improvements thereon, and to sell, mortgage or otherwise dispose of the same;

(5) To employ such officers and personnel, preferably from the qualified Muslim sector, as may be necessary to carry Islamic banking business;

(6) To establish such branches and agencies in provinces and cities in the Philippines, particularly where Muslims are predominantly located, and such correspondent offices in other areas in the country or abroad as may be necessary to carry on its Islamic banking business, subject to the provisions of Section 2 hereof;

(7) To perform the following banking services:

(a) Open current or checking accounts;

(b) Open savings accounts for safekeeping or custody with no participation in profit and losses except unless otherwise authorized by the account holders to be invested;

(c) Accept investment account placements and invest the same for a term with the Islamic Bank's funds in Islamically permissible transactions on participation basis;

(d) Accept foreign currency deposits from banks, companies, organizations and individuals, including foreign governments;

(e) Buy and sell foreign exchange;

(f) Act as correspondent of banks and institutions to handle remittances or any fund transfers;

(g) Accept drafts and issue letters of credit or letters of guarantee, negotiate notes and bills of exchange and other evidence of indebtedness under the universally accepted Islamic financial instruments;

(h) Act as collection agent insofar as the payment orders, bills of exchange or other commercial documents are exclusive of riba or interest prohibitions;

(i) Provide financing with or without collateral by way of leasing, sale and leaseback, or cost plus profit sales arrangement;

(j) Handle storage operations for goods or commodity financing secured by warehouse receipts presented to the Bank;

(k) Issue shares for the account of institutions and companies assisted by the Bank in meeting subscription calls or augmenting their capital and/or fund requirements as may be allowed by law;

(l) Undertake various investments in all transactions allowed by Islamic Shari'a in such a way that shall not permit the haram (forbidden), nor forbid the halal (permissible);

(8) To act as an official government depository, or its branches, subdivisions and instrumentalities and of government-owned or controlled corporations, particularly those doing business in the autonomous region;

(9) To issue investment participation certificates, muquaradah (non-interest-bearing bonds), debentures, collaterals and/or the renewal or refinancing of the same, with the approval of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Philippines, to be used by the Bank in its financing operations for projects that will promote the economic development primarily of the Autonomous Region;

(10) To carry out financing and joint investment operations by way of mudarabah partnership, musharaka joint venture or by decreasing participation, murabaha purchasing for others on a cost-plus financing arrangement, and to invest funds directly in various projects or through the use of funds whose owners desire to invest jointly with other resources available to the Islamic Bank on a joint mudarabah basis;

(11) To invest in equities of the following allied undertakings:

(a) Warehousing companies;

(b) Leasing companies;

(c) Storage companies;

(d) Safe deposit box companies;

(e) Companies engaged in the management of mutual funds but not in the mutual funds themselves; and

(f) Such other similar activities as the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Philippines has declared or may declare as appropriate from time to time, subject to existing limitations imposed by law;

(12) To exercise the powers granted under this Charter and such incidental powers as may be necessary to carry on its business, and to exercise further the general powers mentioned in the Corporation Law and the General Banking Act, insofar as they are not inconsistent or incompatible with the provisions of this Charter.

CAPITAL RESOURCES OF THE BANK