Bank of Palestine

The bank was established in Gaza City in 1960, making it the first in Palestine.{{Cite web |title=Disclosure |url=https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/SPI/27017/bank-of-palestine-p-l-c |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=disclosures.ifc.org}} Hasheem Atta Shawa founded it as an agricultural bank to help farmers develop their citrus business since Shawa's family was also in the citrus business at the time. The bank helped farmers with loans for farming equipment.{{Cite web |title=Banking on peace: Bank of Palestine’s Hashim Shawa |url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/banking-on-peace-bank-of-palestine-s-hashim-shawa-579560#.Vz4ikvmLTIV |website=Arabian Business}}

File:Hashim Shawa (born 1976) at World Economic Forum Davos 2023.png

In the early 1990s, Dr. Hani Shawa took over in running the bank. Hashim Shawa, aged 31, became chairman and CEO of the bank after his father died in 2007. Since then, the bank has about 1,980 employees and serves over 900,000 customers.{{Cite web |title=Bank of Palestine |url=https://www.weforum.org/organizations/bank-of-palestine/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}

In 2019, the bank was the target of an amended complaint titled Singer v. Bank of Palestine (case number: 1:19-cv-00006){{Cite web |title=Singer et al v. Bank of Palestine |url=https://www.law360.com/cases/5c2ca3e3562167603d45bd43/dockets |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}} which claimed that the bank aided the Palestinian militant group Hamas by providing financial services and maintaining accounts for the organization.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-27 |title=Bank of Palestine Case |url=https://www.osenlaw.com/case/bank-palestine-case |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Osen LLC |language=en}} The Bank of Palestine claimed that there was no legal basis behind the plaintiffs' claims and that they were taking "prompt and strong measures" to get the lawsuit dismissed.https://bopwebsitestorage.blob.core.windows.net/assets/documents/ClCPbHREM8pACBeSn8av6TNUaInOhaQlKVxgj2Ta.pdf

According to a report in the French newspaper Le Monde, the bank informed its partners about a series of robberies and the loss of €66 million during the Gaza war in 2024. The theft of €2,8 Million in Israeli currency was discovered on 16 April, after perpetrators had broken into a vault. The staff tried to secure remaining cash reserves by pouring concrete over the cash boxes, but the concrete block was opened the next day with the help of explosives, and the attackers stole the equivalent of €29 million in various currencies. On 18 April gunmen got away with the equivalent of €33,6 Million from the second largest branch of the bank in Gaza, by identifying themselves as representatives of the authorities and forcing their way into the building.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-05 |title=Bank of Palestine Case |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/05/05/gaza-s-banks-targeted-by-armed-groups_6670475_4.html |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=Le Monde |language=en}}

File:Bank of Palestine - ATM.jpg in Ramallah]]

The Bank of Palestine is the most geographically distributed banking corporation in Palestine, with 74 branches and sub-branches.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-18 |title=branches |url=https://pibbank.com/en/content/branches |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Palestine Investment Bank |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Bank of Palestine, Ramallah, Palestine {{!}} Head office, address, tel, website and swift code |url=https://m.banksdaily.com/info/bank-palestine |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=m.banksdaily.com}} The bank's head office is located in Ramallah, Palestine. It also has representative offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Santiago, Chile.{{Cite web |title=Contact us |url=https://www.bankofpalestine.com/en/contact-us |website=Bank of Palestine}}

In 2016, Bank of Palestine launched "NAHJ Project" to support school entrepreneurship in Jerusalem schools.{{Cite web |title=The launch of “NAHJ” project to support school entrepreneurship in Jerusalem schools |url=https://bop.ps/en/about/news/220 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=Bank of Palestine |language=en}}

{{Portal|Banks|Palestine

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• List of banks in the State of Palestine

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• [https://bop.ps Official site]

Category:Banks established in 1960

Category:Banks of Palestine