Manitoba credit union 1st to offer Islamic mortgages
A Manitoba credit union has become the first major financial institution in Canada to offer mortgages geared towards the needs of devout Muslims.
On Wednesday, Winnipeg-based Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) announced it was launching an Islamic Mortgage Program.
Currently, the majority of the Winnipeg`s roughly 13,000 Muslims rent or don`t own the homes they live in, the credit union said.
For-profit loans are problematic for people of the faith because the Qur`an forbids the payment of interest.
Under the program, the credit union and the homebuyer enter into what ACU calls a "declining partnership agreement." Both parties co-own the home and its title.
"During this time, the family has exclusive rights to live in the home and in exchange they agree to pay ACU a profit. At the end of the contract the Muslim family is the sole owner of the home," the credit union said in a press release.
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