First Islamic bank set to open in Britain

British financial authorities have given the green light to the opening of the first Islamic Bank in Great Britain.

The Islamic British Bank (IBB) will be based in Birmingham (central England) where a large Muslim community lives.

Unlike the other banks, this financial institution will not adopt a system of interest and will not invest in some domains like tobacco trade, said officials of the bank.

The bank plans to open branches in other British cities as well as all European countries.

The bank's capital is 14 million pounds, made essentially of the contributions of businessmen from the Arab Gulf region.

Britain is host to an estimated 2 million Muslim people.