The first modern experiment in Islamic banking system was undertaken in Egypt under cover, without projecting an Islamic image, for fear of being seen as a manifestation of Islamic fundamentalism which was anathema for the political regime. The pioneering effort, led by Ahmad El Najjar, took the form of a profit-sharing savings bank in the Egyptian town of Mit Ghamr in 1963. This experiment lasted until 1967 (Ready 198l) , by which time there were nine such banks. in the country. These banks, which neither charged nor paid interest, invested primarily in commerce and industry, directly or in partnership with others, and shared the profits with their depositors (Siddiqi 1988). Thus, they functioned primarily as savings and investment institutions rather than commercial banks. Nasir Social Bank, established in Egypt in 1971, was declared an interest-free commercial bank, although its charter made no reference to Islam or Sharia (Islamic law). The IDB was established in 1974 by the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). , but it was primarily an intergovernmental bank intended to provide funds for development projects in member countries. The IDB provides fee-based financial services and profit-sharing financial assistance to member countries. The IDB's operations are interest-free and are explicitly based on Sharia principles. In the 1970s, the political climate in many Muslim countries changed so that there was no longer much need to create Islamic financial institutions under cover. A number of Islamic banks, both in letter and spirit, have emerged in the Middle East, for example Dubai Islamic Bank (1975), Faisal Islamic Bank of Sudan (1977), Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt (1977), and the Islamic Bank of Bahrain (1979), to name a few. The Asia-Pacific region has not been immune to the winds of change. The Philippine Amanah Bank (PAB) was established in 1973 by presidential decree as a specialized banking institution without reference to its Islamic character in the bank's charter. The creation of the PAB was a response by the Philippine government to the Muslim rebellion in the south, designed to meet the particular banking needs of the Muslim community. However, the main task of the PAB was to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction in Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan in the south (Mastura 1988). PAB has eight branches located in major cities in the southern Muslim provinces, including one in Makati (Metro Manila), in addition to the head office located in Zamboanga City in Mindanao..