Renowned global financial magazine "Global Finance" gave Bank of Palestine the Best Bank in Palestine Award for the year 2012, marking the first time that Palestinian banks are considered for the award ever since the magazine was founded. The magazine's awards cover the best banks in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and Latin America and the Middle East. A ceremony will be held in Tokyo, Japan next month with the participation of different banks and financial and banking institutions around the world.
Among the criteria adopted by Global Finance for choosing the winning banks and financial institutions are asset growth, profitability, strategic relations, customer service, competitive prices, and innovative products. Global Finance announced that the final decisions were also based on recognizing the outstanding achievements made by these banks in light of the difficult conditions experienced by the global financial market, and the different conditions in each market.
Hashim Shawa, Chairman and General Manager of BoP, pointed that the award is the culmination of BoP's achievements over the past years, explaining that the bank remained determined to work with distinction despite political and economic difficulties. The award comes in line with the bank's financial results during last year, and its expansion and growth strategies with a growing banking network of 46 branches and 100 ATMs around the country. BoP also plays a major role in developing the society by dedicating a percentage of the bank's profits (5% in 2011) to Corporate Social Responsibility.
Global Finance, founded in 1987, has a circulation of 50,050 and readers in 163 countries. Its circulation is audited by BPA. Global Finance’s audience includes chairmen, presidents, CEOs, CFOs, treasurers and other senior financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. Global Finance also targets the 8,000 international portfolio investors responsible for more than 80% of all global assets under professional management. Its website ––GFmag.com –– offers analysis and articles that are the heritage of 25 years of experience in international financial markets, and provides a valuable source of data on 192 countries. It is headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Milan.