An Evaluation of Cash Waqf Deposit Performance Through Islamic Banks in Bangladesh

Cash waqf, derived from Waqf, an old and traditional way of charity or philanthropic works promulgated by Islamic law and the Islamic way of life, has attracted Islamic financial institutions, especially Islamic banks, to increase their deposits as well as to do philanthropy through banking systems. Bangladesh’s Islamic banks have maintained mudaraba cash waqf deposit accounts since 1997. There has yet to be found a study about the performance of Islamic banks in mobilizing cash waqf deposits. This chapter aims to look at the cash waqf deposit account maintenance in Islamic banks in Bangladesh and evaluate their performance in maintaining such cash waqf deposit accounts. Depositors and top executives from six major Islamic banks will be interviewed for the study. This study will also examine annual reports of the related Islamic banks and other waqf fund management-related reports. Besides, textual information will be collected and analyzed from secondary sources like earlier literature, laws, and principles. The study’s findings will show whether there is any gap in the performance of those banks in mobilizing cash waqf deposits and further popularizing cash waqf in the banking system to help contribute much more to the socioeconomic development of COVID-19-affected segments of Bangladesh.