It stands for investment account holder; the individual/ entity that has deposited funds with an Islamic bank (IFI), via Shari’ah-compliant profit-sharing investment accounts that provide an alternative to interest-bearing accounts in conventional financial institutions.

The investment accountholders are holders of participatory instruments whereby they are entitled to share or take the profit and bear the risk of loss with respect to the underlying assets of their investments, and also to a residual interest in these assets or business (in case the assets are invested as a business).

These investment accounts include on-balance sheet unrestricted investment accounts (URIA) and off-balance sheet investment accounts (restricted investment accounts or RIA), depending on establishing control of an entity (IFI) over underlying assets in line with the contractual terms and conditions governing the relationship between the entity and its accountholders.