Ruling on working in Bank al-Bilaad
Question

                What is the ruling on working in Bank al-Bilaad which is going to be established shortly? I know from a source in the Saudi Arabian Financial Institution that all the transactions of this bank will be Islamic, but it will not be called an Islamic bank.
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    The Financial Institution is to be commended for its keenness 
    to establish a bank whose operations are run in accordance with shar’i 
    rulings. We ask Allaah to help them to do that which He loves and is pleased 
    with. 

    Secondly: 

    If the operations of the bank are run in accordance with 
    Islamic guidelines, there is nothing wrong with working there, even if it is 
    not called an Islamic Bank. But if its operations are based on riba in 
    lending and borrowing, or other haraam things, then it is not permissible to 
    work there even if it is called an Islamic bank. What matters is what really 
    happens, not mere names.  

    The sharee’ah council of the bank has issued a statement 
    which suggests that the Bank al-Bilaad will submit to a shar’i policy which 
    requires it to show all its operations to the sharee’ah council, and to 
    abide by the council’s decisions; the banks operations will be overseen by a 
    shar’i committee. The shar’i policy of this bank states that the bank is 
    committing itself from the outset to applying sharee’ah in all its 
    operations. 

    This is a good sign, praise be to Allaah. We ask Allaah to 
    bless them and help them. You can also get in touch with the members of the 
    shar’i committee to find out more and put your mind at ease. 

    And Allaah knows best.