/ Monday, November 9, 2020 / Categories: Workshops Palestine Monetary Authority Organizes Training Course for Journalists on Using Banking Data in Economic Journalism Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate – November 9, 2020 - His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority, Mr. Azzam Shawwa, opened today a training course organized by Palestine Monetary Authority at the headquarters of Palestine Monetary Authority in Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate. The course, titled "How to Use Banking Data in Economic Journalism," was organized in cooperation with the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate - the Network of Economic Journalists - with participation of a group of journalists working in the field of economic journalism. Mr. Shawwa welcomed the participants in the course, praised the continued cooperation between Palestine Monetary Authority and the Network of Economic Journalists and other journalists and their role in conveying information and facts to the public and simplifying and explaining economic and banking terms in a plane way so that citizens can receive them straightforwardly.Mr. Shawwa emphasized the importance of continuing these courses and workshops in order to develop the abilities and skills of journalists, enabling them to perform the media message professionally, responsibly and with ability to deal with, analyze and interpret data and statistics objectively, which is positively reflected in promoting financial stability and inclusion.Mr. Shawwa said the banking system in Palestine - despite successive economic and financial crises, including the coronavirus crisis and the clearance revenue crisis - was stable and strong due to the balanced policies and actions taken. The financial indicators reflect the development of the banking system and its contributions to economic development. Mr. Shawwa said that the direct facilities of total banks as of the end of the third quarter of this year (September 2020) reached approximately USD 9.9 billion, and customer deposits of just over USD 14 billion. The number of branches and banking offices in the country had reached 377, said Mr. Shawwa. The training included two main themes, the first of which was the retrieval of information from Palestine Monetary Authority's website, which was addressed by Mr. Mohammed Atallah, the Director of the Research and Monetary Policy Department at Palestine Monetary Authority, and included how the information was retrieved, how it was read and the most important publications of Palestine Monetary Authority (quarter, biannual and annual reports), how to compare the figures and data contained in Palestine Monetary Authority's reports with similar periods, and how to use this information in the writing of news. The second theme was on types of interests and how to calculate them. The Head of the Banking Supervision Department, Mr. Rami Takhman, addressed, in the second theme of the training course, the types of interests, the difference between interests in commercial banks, Islamic banks and lending institutions, the difference in the interest rate between Palestine and neighboring countries, the difference between the interest rates of facilities and deposits and how they are calculated, what interests are affected by (high, low), the concept of the LIBOR and what would happen when it was discontinued.The Head of the Financial Inclusion Section, Mr. Muhanad Sal’os, also introduced the annual borrowing cost calculation program and its components, the legal rights aspect of banking services consumers with regard to interests.The training course is the second in a series of training courses for economic journalists as part of the memorandum of understanding signed last year by Palestine Monetary Authority and the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate to strengthen cooperation between the two parties and develop economic media. The workshops and training courses are among the achievements of the cooperation between the two parties. Previous Article The PMA Business Cycle Index (PMABCI) – October 2020 Next Article The Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Congratulates Middle East Payment Services – MEPS on Launching Operations in Palestine Print 1809