Seminar Titled “PMA’s Aspirations and Directions under New Governor”

Organized by Palestine Governance Institute in Cooperation with Palestine Monetary Authority

In cooperation with the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA), The Palestine Governance Institute (PGI) organized yesterday a seminar titled “PMA’s Aspirations and Directions under the New Governor”, during which H.E. Governor Azzam Shawwa delivered a speech in the presence and participation of bank managers and a host of economists and interested people. 

At the beginning of the seminar, Director of the PGI, Dr. Hisham Awartani, welcomed H.E. the Governor and thanked him for accepting the invitation to hold this important seminar to elaborate his strategic vision as the new Governor of the PMA. In his opening speech, Dr. Awartani brought to light the great banking expertise and credibility H.E. Governor Shawwa brings to the PMA. 

In his speech, H.E. Governor Shawwa expressed his pride of PMA’s achievements and success stories over the past twenty years, since the time of its founder and first Governor Dr. Fouad Bseiso and then over the period of his successors Dr .Amin Haddad, Dr. George Al-Abed and Dr. Jihad Al-Wazir; adding that he held them all in the highest regard. 

H.E. Governor of the PMA noted that the PMA is working under extremely complicated economic and political conditions, resulting in particular from occupation, siege and political division. Yet, despite everything, he added, the PMA has achieved outstanding results at the level of financial stability in Palestine, which have earned it positive reviews and repeated praise from Arab and international monetary and financial institutions. Any observer of the work of the PMA can discern the tangible progress achieved in several domains. The PMA has succeeded in implementing banking supervision over 15 banks and 278 bank branches in Palestine, the net assets of which reach USD 12.3 billion and total deposits about USD 11 billion. Moreover, the PMA was able to push down non-performing loan ratio to 2.1 per cent, which is regarded as one the lowest ratios of NPLs in the region.

The Governor added that, over the course of this year, the PMA will be engaged in the implementation of several important projects, including electronic clearing, payment through points of sale and mobile banking, which are expected to bring about a breakthrough in the operation of the banking system and spur economic growth in Palestine. 

The Governor of the PMA also addressed the efforts of the PMA to promote Arab and international relations, pointing to the visits he has lately paid to Governors of the Central Banks of Jordan, Egypt and Algeria and the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank of Bahrain. He also added that banking relations will also be strengthened with several European central banks and that the PMA will be taking part in IMF meetings scheduled for next month.