Androscoggin Savings Bank in Lewiston, Maine, has created a Sharia-compliant mortgage product.
The $1.5 billion-asset bank hired Ayesha Baye, an Ethiopian immigrant with extensive banking experience, to serve Muslim customers. It took a year to develop the mortgage program in collaboration with ProsperityME and the Greater Portlan Immigrant Welcome Center.
The Halal Mortgage Program helps Muslims who believe that they are barred from accepting conventional mortgages with interest.