Bank of Palestine
The speed with which trade between Asia and the Middle East is growing is embodied and exemplified by Bank of Palestine.
Based in Ramallah in the West Bank, the lender has been quietly extending its reach across Asia in recent years. Its chair is Hashim Shawa.
It has yet to open its first branch in the region, but it boasts a growing network of correspondent banks that are vital to the needs of its corporate clients and retail customers. This network, which includes lenders in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Thailand, is testament to years of hard work and contact building.
A total of $11.7 million in credits was issued to corporate clients in those countries through the correspondent banks in the first three quarters of 2017. Its services are designed to cater to the classic import-export firm, and include spot trading and forward trading, helping Asia-based clients to transfer between their accounts in foreign currencies and to limit any losses arising from currency volatility.