Bank of Palestine signed a first of its kind agreement with the global Moody’s Corporation to evaluate the credit risks for small and large companies and enterprises, which will help the bank in both the short-run and the long-run to make decisions related to providing credit facilitation to customers and finance various projects in the country.
The agreement was signed at the Movenpick Hotel in Ramallah; the agreement was signed by the Bank’s representative, Mr. Hashim Shawa, Chairman and General Manager, and Mr. Wael Jadallah, Director of Moody’s Office for Financial Analysis in the Middle East, in the presence of Dr. Jihad Al Wazeer, Governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority and his assistant Mr. Riyad Abu Shihadeh, and Mr. Mustafa Abu Salah, Audit Division Head for local banks at the Palestinian Monetary Authority, in addition to a number of the Bank’s Deputies and Assistants General Manager in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Department Managers, representative of the International Financing Institution and Risk Matrix Ltd. from Cyprus.
Moody’s system that Bank of Palestine started using is considered one of the best international systems for credit analysis for small enterprises and large corporations. The system is used in many of the leading banks around of the world, such as HSCB and JPMorgan, in addition to a number of leading banks in the Middle East and Arab Gulf.
Mr. Hashim Shawa confirmed that the new agreement to use Moody’s system for credit evaluation will contribute to dedicating the Bank’s vision and strategy to apply the highest international standards in credit risks. It will also contribute to adopt methods related to risks to measure performance and pricing based on risks. He confirms that the Bank seeks to provide services to its customers with international standards and in accordance with leading systems in the banking sector around the world.
Shawa added that using this new system at Bank of Palestine is a first across the national banks and an essential step in the application of advanced methods within Basel standards, as the evaluation system depends on both financial and non-financial information and provides tools that help in credit analysis. He stresses that the evaluation resulting from the analysis is considered as one factor from a group of factors to make credit decisions.
Mr. Wael Jadallah, representative of global Moody’s Corporation, expressed his pride to cooperate with Bank of Palestine and sign an agreement to develop its credit system. Jadallah adds that Moody’s systems are internationally certified, indicating that the Bank’s usage to the new system from Moody’s will put Bank of Palestine in the international rankings for credit risks.
Dr. Jihad Al Wazeer, Governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, endorsed the agreement signed with the global Moody’s Corporation; he added that Bank of Palestine’s usage to Moody’s system for credit analysis is supportive to the credit information office at the Monetary Authority and contributes in reducing the Bank’s credit risks and support their efforts in enhancing the financial stability in Palestine.