IFTANA to develop investment instruments for US

US: The Islamic Finance Trade Association of North America (IFTANA), founded by the industry’s leading Islamic finance experts and practitioners, plans to launch a Sukuk initiative over the next six to nine months and develop a Shariah compliant education savings program to address unmet demand in the US, IFN - the sister publication of IFN Investor - has learned.

Launched on the 16th June at the IFN Investor Americas Forum 2026 in New York, IFTANA is the first industry-wide trade association dedicated to supporting Islamic finance practitioners and advancing consumer advocacy in the US.

“When we saw how exceptionally good some of these institutions have been working in their silos but did not have the opportunity to collaborate, we the founding board members, felt the need for us to work together,” Founding Board Member Irshad Rasheed, also the president of Stearns Salaam Banking, told IFN. “This trade association will bring disparate expertise from across different disciplines under one umbrella that would serve the industry as a whole.”

The nine-member board includes some of the most prominent figures in US Islamic finance: Dr Aamir A Rehman, the chair of Innate Capital Partners and a board member of Stearns Bank; Ahmad Quqa, the founder and CEO of Crescent Private Wealth; Aijaz Hussain, the executive vice-president of sales and director at UIF Corporate; Eaman Shebley, the founder and CEO of TACS; Michael McMillen, a partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle; Monem Salam, the executive vice-president and director of Saturna Capital; M Shams Billal, a partner and the private credit chair of Barnes & Thornburg; and Neil Kiely, the president and CEO of Androscoggin Bank.

IFTANA’s launch comes as American Muslims – whose annual spending is estimated at US$73 billion – seek greater access to Shariah compliant solutions across housing finance, education funding and wealth management.

The association’s immediate priorities are to establish Sukuk as a mainstream funding tool in the US, initially by supporting issuance from government-related entities; develop a Shariah compliant 529 education savings plan; and help facilitate new entrants into the market.

The initiatives could mark a significant step toward institutionalizing Islamic finance in the US, expanding the sector beyond its traditional focus on home financing and creating new channels for capital formation, savings and investment.