Vision

To be a pioneer in providing Islamic banking, financing and investment services and activities using the latest technology to meet the needs and requirements of clients and stakeholders.

Mission

Achieving excellence in target markets by providing comprehensive and modern banking solutions in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia. Constantly striving to meet the financial needs of all segments of the local community to achieve profit-sharing.

Values

• Integrity and Transparency
• Loyalty and Commitment
• Honesty and Sincerity
• Objectivity and Credibility
• Fairness and Equality
• Modernity and Diversity

Our Strategy

The Bank continuously develops its strategic plan and strives to adapt it to suit internal and external variables, in order to achieve its desired goals. The Bank’s participatory approach is based on planning that begins with setting objectives involving different administrative levels in the process. The Bank's main objectives are to:

1- Provide innovative Islamic financial solutions

by developing and providing high-quality, innovative products and services and to enhance the culture of Islamic banking both inside and outside of the Bank, in addition to establishing partnerships with local, regional and international financial institutions.

2- Achieve excellence in customer relationship management through continually measuring and developing customer satisfaction and loyalty and providing high quality services.

3- Develop staff and provide a good working environment by encouraging cooperation and supporting integration, nurturing talent and developing planning, evaluation and decision-making skills.

4- Increase the efficiency and quality of the Bank's business by digitally developing all operations of the Bank and working to provide an infrastructure which ensures optimal use of data and enhances customer access efficiently and effectively, in addition to taking advantage of possible synergies with partners.

5- Increase utilization of available income sources through developing investments, improving returns, and diversifying sources of income to enable the Bank to increase its sources of income and enhance its profitability.

6- Reduce the risks to the business by adhering to local and international procedures and requirements, integrating the principles of risk management into administrative and operational processes, promoting a culture of compliance and combating money laundering, and tracking and evaluating the performance of the Bank's portfolio to minimize risks.

7- Promote sustainable community participation by supporting sustainable social responsibility initiatives and acting as a community partner serving the country and its citizens.

In addition to this ambitious strategy, the Bank has adopted a policy which aims to reduce various risks relating to liquidity, fluctuations in exchange rates or operating risks, etc., and has implemented an effective system to reduce them to an acceptable level in order to carry out its banking operations, ensure that operations are not disrupted and avoids unnecessary complications.

The Bank responded to the requirements of the Palestinian Monetary Authority to raise its capital to $100 million. During 2019, it reached $77 million. In coming years, the Bank aims to complete the process of raising capital, by preserving shareholders’ investments and increasing their profits, while ensuring profit distributions per the previous years' rate. This increase provides the Bank with more stability and increases its investment opportunities, which will be reflected in its services and investor profits.

The Bank, through its various supervisory and executive bodies, endeavors to achieve its goals, by applying the clear plans presented by the executive management and following up on their implementation in a timely manner, to ensure that deviations are minimized.

The Bank prioritizes the development of staff and seeks to increase their expertise and skills in the field of Islamic banking, as well as providing them with wider training opportunities, to enable them to participate in the regional and global banking sector. The Bank encourages staff to participate in voluntary community activities aimed at achieving a positive and sustainable impact.

Awards

Palestine Islamic Bank is proud to have been nominated for many highly regarded international awards in recognition of its excellent customer services and products and its contribution to the Islamic banking sector

The Bank has been awarded the following:

As part of the Bank’s plans for expansion into new and vital areas, two new offices were opened in 2019, Alhisbah in Nablus and Salfit office, in line with the Palestinian Monetary Authority’s financial inclusion strategy to strengthen the bank’s reputation and its position as the largest Islamic banking network in Palestine.

Kareem X2

As part of the Bank’s endeavors to encourage saving and promote good financial habits it launched the third version of the “Kareem” savings campaign. The grand prize was doubled to a quarter of a million shekels and the instant gifts and discount coupons, that customers receive when they open a new saving account or top up the balance of their existing accounts, were doubled. Tens of thousands of valuable instant prizes and discount coupons were distributed to subscribers in the Bank's various branches and offices. Five people from different governorates won the Grand Prize:

Healthcare and Education Fees Coverage Programs

Supporting the Palestinian health and education sectors is the main focus of the Banks’s social responsibility program, providing funding for programs that address the needs of the public in these two sectors and enabling them to obtain necessary services.

The Bank’s understands the public’s need to access optimal health services in the best hospitals and medical centers, and has developed a program to help cover healthcare costs, which is compatible with Sharia’s rules and regulations. This has been achieved by signing agreements with health institutions to include them in the program, resulting in the following set of benefits:

• Installment plan, which covers 100% of health and services fees.
• Coverage at the same cash price declared by the health authority.
• Premiums payable over a period of up to 12 months.

The Bank is committed to helping its clients access the best educational services and has continued to develop its installment plan for educational fees compatible with Sharia provisions and regulations, through signing agreements with many educational institutions to include them in the program, with the aim of providing a comprehensive set of benefits which include:

• Installment plan covering 100% of tuition fees.
• Coverage at the same cash price declared by the educational institution, except for graduate studies.
• Covers all stages of educating - school, university, and even graduate education.
• Premiums payable over a semester or academic year for a period of up to 12 months.

Centralization Plan

In line with the Bank’s strategy to increase the efficiency and quality of its business and ensure excellence in customer relationship management, the Bank approved a centralization plan and has been reshaping branches and offices in line with advances in banking services and to move from product-focused services to a focus on excellence in customer service. This will be achieved by transforming branches and offices into customer-focused centers providing the latest services to clients and transferring non-customer related work to support departments.

Central Archive

Maintaining customer privacy and protecting personal data is a top priority for the Bank. In line with this, the Bank began a central archives project to keep all documents in the most secure and advanced way, in line with best practices in customer information security, ensuring confidentiality and ease of access for clients. The project will allow customers to have peace of mind that their personal data is kept in the most secure way with Palestine Islamic Bank.

In addition to launching the central archives project, the Bank updated its customers' data to ensure security and to continue to develop the best banking products and services.

Upgrading Infrastructure

During 2019, the Bank continued to develop its infrastructure, in accordance with the latest developments in this field, with the aim of increasing work efficiency and maintaining the highest degree of privacy and safety, in addition to providing excellence in banking services which meet international standards. The Bank signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Palestinian Telecommunications Company "Paltel", a subsidiary of Paltel Group, to connect all branches, offices and ATMs with a major backup network via optical fiber technology. This is in addition to a set of other agreements to provide the Bank with integrated technology solution services.

The agreements will provide the Bank with the latest systems and solutions, and by sharing experiences and information with Paltel, the Bank will upgrade the technological and electronic services it provides to the public. Paltel has extensive experience of providing integrated technology solution services and is the leading company in this field in Palestine.

Expanding the ATM network

During 2019, the Bank expanded its ATM network to more than 80 ATMs, in line with the financial inclusion strategy launched by the Palestinian Monetary Authority which targets new and important areas, to provide citizens in those areas with withdrawal and deposit services around the clock.

Awards

The Bank has received three awards from prestigious international institutions as a result of the Bank’s excellence and innovation, its digital transformation and its perseverance in achieving sustainable development and environmental preservation through its social responsibility program. These awards are:

• Best Islamic Bank in Palestine Award 2019 by EMEA Finance Magazine.
• Most Innovative Digital Bank in Palestine Award 2019 by International Finance Magazine.
• Best Green Bank in Palestine Award 2019 by International Finance Magazine.

E-channels

In line with the Bank’s move towards digital transformation within the framework of its strategic plan, it continued to develop the e-services provided to its customers and added new features to them, in order to save its customers' time and enable them enjoy banking services around the clock without the need to visit a branch. Islami Online and Islami Mobile services allow customers to obtain a set of services and benefits which include:

• Competitive exchange rates.
• The ability to charge balances and pay bills to many different companies.
• Money transfers between personal accounts.
• Money transfers to internal and external beneficiaries.
• The opportunity to request cheque books.
• Track cheque payments
• View and print detailed account statements.
• Check and charge your credit card balance.
• Locate branches and ATMs.
• View all bank accounts and details.

New agreements were signed to increase the number of companies covered by the Bank's electronic payment service, available through Islami Online and Islami Mobile, to enable customers to pay their bills anytime and anywhere.

These e-channels facilitate communication between the Bank and its customers and increase the speed of dealing with customer queries, through the Islami Online and Islami Mobile SMS services or through the Bank's accounts on social media sites.

Best Exchange Rates

To fulfill customers’ demands for e-services and provide them with more benefits, the Bank launched an exchange rates service allowing customers to obtain the best exchange rates through Islamic online, Islamic mobile and ATM services. This more cost effective service allows customers to exchange their money into dinars, dollars or shekels anytime and anywhere. This adds to the Bank's mission to achieve excellence in its target markets by providing comprehensive, quality and modern banking solutions in a manner consistent with the provisions and principles of Islamic Sharia.

Date of the general assembly meeting

The General Assembly meeting is expected to be held on Monday, 20 April 2020.

The agenda of the ordinary general assembly meeting will include:

• Reviewing, discussing, and approving the report of the Board of Directors on the company business for the financial year ending 31/12/2019.
• Hearing, discussing and approving the report of the company auditors, as of December 31, 2019, and approving the financial statements.
• Hearing the report of the Company's Sharia Supervisory Board for the financial year ended 31/12/2019.
• Approving the recommendation of the Board of Directors regarding the distribution of bonus shares to shareholders at a value of 3 million shares / dollars, through the retained earnings (bonus shares) and at a nominal value of one dollar per share at a rate of 3.90% of the value of the share, so that the nominal / paid up capital becomes 80 million shares / dollars.
• Approving the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors for 2019
• Discharging the members of the Board of Directors for the fiscal year 2019.
• Electing the company external auditors for the fiscal year 2020 and authorizing the Board of Directors to determine their fees.
• Authorizing the Board of Directors to elect the members of the Sharia Supervisory Board and determine their fees.

Summary of the most important results of the previous ordinary general assembly meeting held on April 17, 2019

• Approving the Board of Directors' report on the company business for the financial year ending 31/12/2018.
• Approving the Sharia Supervisory Board report for the year 2018.
• Approving the financial statements for the year 2018.
• Approving the recommendation of the Board of Directors regarding cash dividends at rate of 8.5% of nominal per share for the year 2018.
• Approving the recommendation of the Board of Directors regarding distribution of bonus shares at a value of 3 million shares / dollars, through the retained earnings (bonus shares) and at a nominal value of one dollar per share at a rate of 4.05% of the value of the share, so that the nominal / paid up capital becomes 77 million shares / dollars.
• Approving the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors for 2018.
• Discharging the members of the Board of Directors for the fiscal year 2018.
• Electing Ernst & Young as the External Auditor for the year 2019 and authorizing the general assembly to determine their fees.
• Approving the decision of the Board of Directors on the reorganization of the Sharia Supervisory Board and determining their fees.