As for whether or not the industry can continue to grow at these breakneck speeds, there appears to be a consensus that the massive growth spurt in Islamic banking still has some years left in it. This phenomenon is particularly helped by the fact the two largest banks in this category – Meezan Bank and BankIslami – have continued to add branches to their nationwide network, offering more customers the opportunity to switch their financial services to Shariah-compliant modes.

Nonetheless, an important insight from the academic studies of attitudes towards the sector is that deposits in Islamic banks appear to be growing mostly due to customers switching from conventional to Islamic banks. Very few customers – less than 10% according to some surveys – start out from scratch at an Islamic bank. Hence it is unlikely that one will ever find an Islamic bank in a hitherto unbanked place.