Opinion: UK pledges give PR more than practical help

Roland Nagy, r.nagy@hotmail.co.uk

The UK government’s unveiling of plans to expand its Help to Buy guarantee scheme to Islamic mortgages has rightly caused a buzz, having levelled the playing field for Islamic banks and their customers. But while this and other recent announcements have provided great PR for the UK as a western hub for Islamic finance, in practical terms the government is still testing the water.