Islamic banks aim for the mainstream

Difficulties at one Middle East bank have focused attention on a fast-growing sector of the finance market. Islamic banks used to be simply places for those with strong religious convictions to deposit their money. Now, as Nigel Dudley reports, these institutions want to grow internationally, get into new business areas and compete for non-Moslem customers. International firms such as Citibank think the sector is attractive enough to set up their own specialist operations.