Andrew Cunningham
Andrew Cunningham writes and consults on international finance and has a particular interest in Islamic Finance. He is currently providing advice and training on global financial regulation to public and private organizations in the Middle East and Asia.
Andrew began his career as a journalist, specializing in Middle East banking and finance, and then spent nine years as a bank credit analyst for Moody’s Investors Service, where he assigned first-time ratings to Middle East banks and Islamic banks before moving to cover large European banks. He subsequently moved to Cairo to establish the Egyptian and broader Middle East operations of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC), a U.S.-based NGO which facilitates the emergence of efficient financial systems in developing countries. In October 2010, he left FSVC to establish his own consulting firm.
For the last six years, Andrew has been advising the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board on the use by financial regulators of credit ratings on Islamic financial instruments. He has also advised the Asian Development Bank on the creation of a special purpose vehicle to issue highly-rated short-term Islamic bonds.
Andrew is a prolific writer, contributing Op-Ed articles to the Financial Times and “The Gulf “ magazine, among other publications, and is a frequent conference speaker.
Andrew is proficient in Arabic, French, Greek and conversational Farsi.
