Ex-Bank of England PRA regulation supervisor joins the board of pioneering bridge finance start-up Offa

The UK’s first Sharia-compliant bridge finance provider Offa announce the appointment of Riaz Husain to their board of directors. Formerly at the Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Mr Husain’s principal role as a Non-Executive Director at Offa is to supervise the board’s performance in respect of its statutory governance obligations and to chair meetings of the board’s Risk and Audit Committee.

LSE-educated Mr Husain brings an important independent perspective to Offa’s board having served as a Senior Regulatory Supervisor of Financial Institutions at the Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) from 2014 until his retirement in 2019. Prior to that, Mr Husain built up extensive experience working for leading insurance companies as an actuary between 1975 and 2013, having qualified as an Associate of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFOA).

Offa’s Executive Chairman Sultan Choudhury OBE, to whom Mr Husain will report into, welcomed the latest board member to the West Midlands-based firm: “We are delighted to have Riaz join the Offa board. His immense experience, fine analytical mind and independent ideas will be invaluable to our executive team, informing our high-level strategic decisions as we seek to balance risk with growth in this constantly evolving global business landscape.”

Commenting on his new role, Riaz Husain said, “Offa’s Board of Directors and Executives boasts a breadth of expertise, which include leaders in Islamic finance, highly experienced bankers and real estate professionals led by Chairman Sultan Choudhury OBE, the founder and former CEO of Al Rayan Bank. I am excited to be joining them during this pivotal phase as they expand the business. Even the best directors benefit from being constructively challenged and I look forward to working with the board to support their business decisions, governance and risk management processes.”

Offa was launched in 2019 to offer greater choice to property investors from the UK’s 4 million strong Muslim community who want to access finance in line with their Islamic beliefs. Last year, the UAE’s Gulf Islamic Investments — a leading Shariah-compliant global investment company with over $3 billion of assets under management — became a majority shareholder in the Solihull headquartered business.