In this Islamic Finance Guru episode, the veteran of Islamic Banking Harris Irfan takes a deep dive on everything wrong with the financial system today, its alternatives and what the future holds.

The Islamic Finance Guru ( IFG ) Podcasts are a series of podcasts aimed at bringing money matters to the forefront of the Muslim community.

Harris Irfan is Managing Director of Cordoba Capital, a London-based corporate finance advisory boutique, specialising in Islamic finance and FinTech. He is an investment banker with over two decades experience in London and the Middle East. He was the co-founder of Deutsche Bank’s world leading Islamic finance team, and CEO of its Islamic finance subsidiary. He was subsequently appointed global head of Islamic finance at Barclays and then head of investment banking at Rasmala group.

Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed narrative of the Islamic finance industry, Heaven’s Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance. He appears frequently in the media, including with the BBC, CNN, Sky News, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters and the Financial Times, and was named one of the top 50 leaders in the global Islamic finance economy by Islamica 500.

Heaven’s Bankers has been described by the Financial Times as “a superb introduction to a fascinating subject” and by the Huffington Post as “a major primary source for historians and financiers in researching and understanding this fascinating area”. Harris has presented the themes in his book to a wide range of audiences including the Bank of England, the Oxford Union and the World Islamic Economic Forum.

Harris has a degree in Physics from the University of Oxford.