Guidance Financial Group, an international Islamic financial services company, announces the launch of the Guidance Fixed Income Fund to American customers. The Fund will hold securities that are backed by Shariah-compliant real estate finance assets. The securities will be issued and guaranteed by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
In order to originate the assets that back the Freddie Mac securities, Guidance has worked with Freddie Mac to create a Shariah-compliant home financing product. This product is available across the United States to Guidance’s retail customer base. To date, Guidance has originated over $200 million of mortgage assets under this program.
Fixed income investments form an overwhelming majority of bank assets. Among those investments, residential mortgages are a preferred investment, constituting 58 percent of the fixed income investments of US banks in 2003. The mortgage backed securities market is the largest component of the US dollar fixed-income market. In 2003, the average daily trading volume of the mortgage backed securities market was $207 billion. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
