This week, Qatar Central Bank surprised commercial lenders by stipulating that they shut down their Islamic finance activities by year end, in a move that will affect banking strategies. The move leaves unanswered questions and big strategic worries for the big Western banks with a presence in the region.

The central bank on Sunday sent a three-quarter page circular to banks specifying that they had the rest of the year to wind down their Islamic banking operations and could not do new business. Questions around implementation and scope remain, but the surprise move has far reaching ramifications for those banks that have tried to offer both commercial and Islamic lending.