Palestine Islamic Bank opens an office in Samou
Under the patronage of HE Mr. Azzam Al Shawa, Governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), Palestine Islamic Bank opened a new office in Al Samou, south of Hebron.
Whereas the opening ceremony, which had taken place at Al Samou, was attended by Mr. Dirar Zamil, representative of PMA; Mr. Khalid Dudin, Deputy Governor of Hebron Governorate; Mr. Hatem Mahareek, Mayor of Samou Municipality; Mr. Mohammed Al Hawamdeh, Secretary of the Southern Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and by the Bank representatives, Deputy General Manager, Mr. Imad Al-Saadi; Dr. Hussam El-Din Afaneh, member of the Bank’s Shari'a Supervisory Board; Nizar Bali, Director of the South District; in addition to a number of departmental and branch managers, and a number of businessmen, traders and representatives of national and private institutions in the city.
Imad Al Saadi, PIB Deputy General Manager, stressed the Bank's keenness to open effective channels of communication with the public in various locations; adding that: “We are working on establishing a presence in all vital locations, building suitable branches and providing distinguished human resources in order to provide an exceptional Islamic banking experience for our clients”.
Al Saadi further explained that the Bank’s presence in the governorate of Hebron through eight branches and offices is due to its major economic importance, and highlights the Bank’s keenness to provide appropriate banking solutions and services that meet the needs of the public.
“Under the supervision of the Bank’s Shari'ah Supervisory Board, we have activated investment and financial formulas in accordance with the provisions and principles of Islamic Sharia intended to meet the needs and expectations of the public, especially traders. We have also developed an electronic system that enables clients to access their accounts around the clock, and have also provided unconventional channels of communication such as Islamic Online, Islamic Mobile, and Islamic-Auto, in order to help our clients manage their accounts efficiently and efficiently in a way that suits their time”, added Al-Saadi.
Furthermore, Al-Saadi extended his gratitude to PMA, represented by HE Mr. Azzam Al-Shawa, and all its employees for their efforts aimed at maintaining the stability of the banking sector, especially in light of the difficult economic conditions in which we are experiencing; praising the steps and procedures followed by the Monetary Authority in this regard.
Al-Saadi also expressed his gratitude to the local authorities including the governorate, municipality and Chamber of Commerce for their support and efforts directed at helping the Bank open an office in Al Samou; describing this cooperation as fruitful and constructive, while praising their role in serving the citizen.
Al-Saadi continued to thank the public for their attendance, saying that: “We are proud of the distinguished relations in which we have formed with our partners in various locations and we believe that these relations constitute a gateway for cooperation that will lead to building a strong national economy capable of providing a decent life for our people”; while confirming the Bank's approach towards digitization, in a way that ensures clients' access to banking services in a fast, efficient and secure manner, and towards updating and developing the Bank's banking systems in order to elevate the level of provided services.
On the other hand, Mr. Dirar Zamil, representative of the Monetary Authority, greeted and congratulated the Bank on behalf of HE Mr. Azzam Al-Shawa, and on behalf of PMA senior management; while observing that the Bank’s branching policy is consistent with that of PMA’s strategy of delivering banking services to all areas across Palestine. Whereas the banking system in Palestine has had qualitative branching initiatives in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the beloved capital of Palestine, and in marginalized areas including some Refugee Camps, as well as branches outside Palestine, including Jordan, Chile, Dubai and Bahrain.
Mr. Zamil also added that PIB is one of the most active banks in which we consider to be an asset, due to their contributions to Islamic banking and their role in social responsibility.
Mr. Zamil also made sure to indicate that the net assets of Islamic banks has amounted to more than $2.5 billion of the total assets of all banks operating in Palestine, amounting to more than $16 billion. Whereas, client deposits in Islamic banks has reached $2 billion of total client deposits at an amount of $12.4 billion. Additionally, by the end of May 2019, total direct facilities of Islamic banks will stand at $1.6 billion.
For his part, Mr. Khalid Dudin, Deputy Governor of Hebron, emphasized the importance of the banking sector in serving the Palestinian economy, especially the trade sector, which is one of the most major economic activities in Hebron. He also praised the economic and social role undertaken by PIB, for momentously partaking in raising the status of national economy.
For his part, Mr. Hatem Mahareek, Mayor of Samou Municipality, had insisted that the Bank’s increased interest in Al Samou is a step on the path of developing and building a society wherein the roles of different institutions are integrated in order to ensure a decent life for citizens. He also added that: “We highly value the efforts exerted by Palestine Islamic Bank in opening an office in Samou, and we look forward to the presence of more National institutions herein”.
Within this context, Mr. Mohammed Al-Hawamdeh, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Hebron, said that investment in our country is the biggest motive for the national economy to upsurge and compete, noting that this will jump-start the economy and help further development. He also indicated that PIB’s direction to increase the number of branches in Hebron governorate will have a positive impact on the development of the economic situation therein.
Moreover, Dr. Hussam El Din Affana, member of the Shari'a Supervisory Board at PIB, assured that they are working to ensure that the Bank is always committed to the principles and provisions of the Islamic Shari'a, starting from approving the formulas of finance and investment adopted by the Bank; including supervising the implementation of banking transactions through the Shari'a Audit Department, in order to protect the funds of depositors and investors and to ensure that clients are provided with banking transactions that are fully compatible with Islamic Sharia.