Ramallah – Together – Today, Thursday, 05/30/2024, the General Assembly of the Bank of Palestine held its regular and extraordinary annual meeting at the headquarters of the Bank’s General Administration Headquarters, in the city of Ramallah, in the presence of Mr. Hashem Al Shawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Palestine Group, and Mr. Mahmoud Al Shawa, Director General, members of the Board of Directors, the Registrar of Companies at the Ministry of National Economy, the Monetary Authority, the Palestinian Capital Market Authority, the External Auditor, and a large number of shareholders, with a quorum of about 71.91%.
The two meetings began with an opening speech by Mr. Hashem Al Shawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, who welcomed the shareholders, guests, and members of the Board, noting the great sadness that is overwhelming the Bank of Palestine Group, in view of the ongoing war on our people in the Gaza Strip, and because of the loss of a number of female and male colleagues – m
ay God have mercy on them all – and that the majority of female employees The employees were abandoned and displaced. A large number of the group’s branches and offices were also destroyed. He added that despite all these circumstances, the group stood firm and worked with all its capabilities to protect its employees and provide its services. In addition to supporting the relief efforts of our people, and protecting our customers’ deposits and the interests of our shareholders and all our partners. Shawa expressed his pain at the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip, and at the daily attacks that occur in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Praying to God Almighty to preserve and protect our precious people.
Shawa added that the group worked during the war on the Gaza Strip within a flexible plan that took into account the provision of services to our people in the most difficult circumstances, ensuring business continuity and preserving the bank’s capabilities. Shawa said that this was a major reason for the
group’s ability to adapt, be flexible and steadfast in the face of crises and events. Our steadfastness is also due to our readiness to confront the worst eventualities, by activating the business continuity plan and stress tests for all circumstances and scenarios, which demonstrated the bank’s ability to withstand all shocks, due to its solvency, healthy financial indicators, and the high liquidity ratio it enjoys, in addition to the bank’s increase Reserves through credit allocations to absorb any potential risks resulting from the war.
Al Shawa explained that despite the difficult circumstances, we cling to an optimistic outlook towards the future, armed with our vision for a better future, and full of hope to contribute to rebuilding the Gaza Strip and life to be better than it was. We also continue to strengthen our strategic partnerships to raise capital, expand regionally to diversify sources of income, and maintain the pace of growth inside and outside Palestine through our strategic plan for the ne
xt five years. We started from the Dubai International Financial Center, and now we will move to the Arab Republic of Egypt after obtaining the necessary approvals from the official authorities to open the representative office in Cairo, in preparation for opening a full banking branch in Egypt. We are also currently working on opening another branch in the Abu Dhabi Global Market to be a destination for all Palestinians, Arabs, and international investors. In addition, work is underway to expand into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to open a branch to enhance economic connectivity and serve our customers. Our strategic plan also includes digital transformation and providing the best products to small and medium companies, and all segments of society, including women, youth, and entrepreneurs, to meet their financial needs.
These efforts come hand in hand with bringing in foreign investments in the midst of the current war, whether by investing in bank shares, or bringing in foreign financing and technical s
upport programs from development and international institutions and banks. The most recent intervention was Bank of Africa’s investment in Bank of Palestine shares, to confirm the bank’s strength and belief in its strategy and vision.
On the other hand, Al-Shawa confirmed that the group was one of the first organizations to come to support our people in Gaza since the first week of the war, as we launched a relief bridge, through which we donated $2.5 million to provide food supplies, hot meals, medicine, shelter, clothing, and other aid. Urgent relief and humanitarian assistance from the beginning of the war until now. We also launched a program to care for orphans in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with the Welfare Association, through which we committed to donating $2 million annually to the 18-year program to care for orphans.
Source: Maan News Agency