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Bank of Palestine
Bank of Palestine was founded in 1960 as a local agricultural credit institution. Under Hashim Shawa's leadership, it evolved into Palestine's dominant...
Bank of Palestine
Bank of Palestine was founded in 1960 as a local agricultural credit institution. Under Hashim Shawa's leadership, it evolved into Palestine's dominant financial conglomerate, listing on the Palestine Exchange and building a branch network that spans the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Shawa family's multi-generational association with the bank makes its governance a closely watched barometer of Palestinian private-sector stability. The bank's deployment model operates on two tracks: a foundational commercial-banking engine that extends credit to roughly 70,000 small and medium enterprises, and an innovation mandate executed through direct investments. It targets domestic technology startups via its venture arm, the Sirb Investment Fund, which backs Palestinian-founded companies including the card-payment provider PalPay and construction-technology platform Masari. Asset classes span private credit, public equities, and real estate, with a geographic concentration in the West Bank, Gaza, and Amman. The group maintains a specialized operational scale with a network of over 70 branches. Its sustainability-linked subsidiary, the Bank of Palestine Foundation, operates as a separate philanthropic vehicle funding community development. In May 2022, the European Investment Bank committed a €107 million credit line to Bank of Palestine to on-lend to local businesses, reinforcing its role as the primary conduit for multilateral development capital into the private sector. What distinguishes the firm is its function as a de facto sovereign-proxy without a sovereign. As the principal listed institution on the Palestine Exchange, it shoulders responsibilities — preserving a currency substitute, absorbing multilateral lines, anchoring the capital market — that in other economies would fall to a central government, making its operational continuity a systemic question for the Palestinian financial architecture.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
1960
Location
Region
Middle East
Country
Palestine
City
Ramallah
Corporate office
Ramallah, Palestine
Principals
Hashim Shawa
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Bank of Palestine?
The Chairman, Hashim Shawa, sets the strategic investment direction. Day-to-day venture-capital decisions flow through the Sirb Investment Fund, the bank's dedicated tech-investment vehicle. The fund's managers scout for scalable Palestinian-founded startups, making direct equity commitments from the bank's balance sheet rather than through external limited-partner structures.
How does Bank of Palestine source proprietary deal flow?
Deal flow originates primarily through the bank's dominant SME-banking franchise. With over 70 branches across the West Bank and Gaza, the bank has a direct lending relationship with a significant share of the territory's private-sector companies. This origination network gives the Sirb fund early visibility into high-growth Palestinian businesses, a sourcing advantage that external venture firms operating in the same geography cannot easily replicate.
Is Bank of Palestine active in venture capital or only commercial lending?
The bank operates both. Its core business remains commercial and retail banking. Through the Sirb Investment Fund, it has formally entered venture capital, taking direct equity stakes in early-stage and growth-stage Palestinian technology companies. The fund serves as the group's innovation window, targeting fintech, construction-tech, and digital-services startups that can scale across the Levant market.
How is the bank's philanthropic arm structured?
The Bank of Palestine Foundation operates as a legally separate entity handling all community and philanthropic programming. The foundation focuses on education, health, and economic-empowerment projects across the West Bank and Gaza. Its separation from the commercial bank preserves a clear governance boundary, a structural choice that matters for international partners conducting compliance reviews before directing multilateral funding through the bank.
What is the bank's relationship with multilateral development institutions?
Bank of Palestine is the primary Palestinian private-sector partner for the European Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation. The EIB signed a €107 million credit line with the bank in 2022, and prior facilities from the IFC have funded the bank's SME-lending portfolio. These multilateral relationships effectively designate the bank as the Palestinian economy's main on-lending conduit, a role that carries both preferential funding costs and heightened institutional scrutiny.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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