Preliminary Banking Data in Palestine, 2018 — Part One

·       Bank deposits in 2018 - Part One

-        Although it is still early to publish the audited financial statements of the banks operating in Palestine for 2018, after they are audited by external auditors and receive administrative approvals from their boards of directors ... the banking data displayed on the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) website, which I follow continuously, showed that the total customer deposits (recognized) with the banking sector as of 31-12-2018 amounted to 12,227 million US dollars (twelve billion two hundred twenty-seven million US dollars), of which 11,069 million dollars were deposits in the West Bank, while customer deposits in the Gaza Strip amounted to 1,157 million US dollars. The increase in customer deposits in the West Bank in 2018 was approximately 2% over its deposits in 2017, which at that time amounted to 10,854 million US dollars... The share of customer deposits in the Gaza Strip in 2018 was about 9% of the total customer deposits in Palestine... despite the fact that the population of the Gaza Strip, relative to the population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, is more than 40%... which indicates that banking activity in the Gaza Strip is not commensurate with the population size, and it is clearly deeply affected by the division and the siege that have been in place for years.. and this explains the reality of customer deposits in the Gaza Strip in 2018 ... which did not increase over Gaza's 2017 deposits by more than 30 million US dollars.. and they show that deposits did not rise in 2018 in the Gaza Strip.. and it is clear that this division and siege have deeply extended their political impact on banking activity.. in Palestine..!!

-        Customer deposits (recognized) in the West Bank for 2018 were distributed by type as shown in Table No. 11 on the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) page, where residents' deposits in the West Bank for 2018 amounted to 7,962 million US dollars, i.e. an increase over 2017 deposits of the same type of about 652 million dollars. Non-residents' deposits for that year amounted to 335 million US dollars, a decrease from 2017 of about 10 million US dollars..

-        As for the deposits of the Palestinian National Authority in 2018 in the West Bank, they amounted to 458 million dollars, i.e. a decrease from their deposits in 2017 by 138 million US dollars... Local authorities' deposits also declined in 2018 in the West Bank, as they amounted to 66 million dollars, down from 2017 by 15 million dollars.. At the same time, resident companies' deposits decreased in 2018, amounting to 1,906 million dollars, a decline from their 2017 deposits by 307 million US dollars..

-        Following the distribution of private sector – resident – deposits in 2018, which amounted to 11,253 million dollars, an increase over 2017 of about 400 million US dollars.. their accounts were distributed by type between current accounts, whose deposits amounted to 4,004 million dollars.. while savings accounts amounted to 3,998 million US dollars.. and time deposits amounted to 3,250 million dollars..
As for the Palestinian National Authority's deposits, their current accounts amounted to 367 million dollars, a decrease in their current accounts in 2017 by 53 million dollars.. while their "time" deposits, which amounted in 2018 to 96 million dollars.. decreased markedly from 2017 by a decline of 81 million US dollars

-        As for the geographic distribution of customer deposits in the West Bank by areas, Table No. 17 in the end-of-third-quarter 2018 statistics showed that West Bank deposits at the end of the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 11,033 million dollars. Ramallah and Al-Bireh deposits at the end of the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 4,573 million dollars, i.e. 41% of total West Bank deposits at the end of the third quarter. As for the facilities granted in the third quarter of 2018, they amounted in the West Bank to 7,328 million dollars – according to Table No. 21 of the financial data displayed on the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) page as mentioned earlier – Ramallah and Al-Bireh's share of these facilities amounted to 3,958 million dollars, i.e. 54% of the facilities granted in the third quarter of 2018 in the West Bank.. while the population share of the governorate – Ramallah and Al-Bireh according to the 2017 census of the West Bank population – was 13%... Nablus deposits in the same third quarter of 2018 amounted to 1,556 million US dollars, i.e. 14% of West Bank deposits at the end of the third quarter.. Nablus's share of facilities in the third quarter amounted to 996 million dollars, i.e. 14% of the third-quarter facilities in the West Bank in 2018... while Nablus governorate's population share of the West Bank population was 15%... Hebron's deposits in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 1,179 million US dollars, i.e. 11% of total deposits in the third quarter. Hebron's share of banking facilities in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 513 million dollars, i.e. 7% .!!!.. while the governorate of Hebron's population percentage reached 28%... which shows a lack of correspondence between population size and bank deposits, savings and banking activity. Indeed, the need for banking appears relatively lower in Hebron compared to its high deposit and population shares. I do not know exactly the total number of accounts opened with the banking system to determine the propensity and willingness to bank with banks of all kinds.. and the level of savings in the area..!!.. compared with Ramallah and Al-Bireh, for example.. where concentration in deposits and granted banking facilities appeared in Ramallah and Al-Bireh... followed by Nablus then Hebron. As for Jenin, its deposit share in the same quarter (deposit value 855 million dollars) was 8% of West Bank deposits. Its share of banking facilities for the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 367 million dollars, i.e. 5%.... while its population percentage was 12% of the West Bank population, compared with Bethlehem city whose deposits in the same quarter amounted to 936 million dollars, i.e. about 8% of total West Bank deposits in the third quarter of 2018, and Bethlehem's share of banking facilities in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 464 million dollars, i.e. 6% of total West Bank facilities in the third quarter of 2018.... while Bethlehem governorate's population percentage was about 9%. This indicates a positive correspondence in terms of deposits, savings and banking activity of Bethlehem's residents with its population size

-        As for the distribution of deposits in the West Bank in 2018 by currency and interest, the value of shekel deposits that do not bear interest amounted to 2,292 million US dollars, while shekel deposits that bear interest amounted to 1,916 million dollars, which shows that the shekel is the currency of current transactions, while the Jordanian dinar appeared more as a savings currency than as a transactional one, where dinar deposits that do not bear interest amounted to 781 million dollars, while Jordanian dinar deposits that are subject to interest amounted to 1,841 million dollars.. As for the dollar, it appeared to be both a transaction and a savings currency at the same time.. dollar deposits that do not bear interest amounted to 1,430 million dollars, while dollar deposits that bear interest amounted to 2,473 million dollars.. which shows the dollar as the primary savings currency in the West Bank.. while the shekel appeared first in order as the transactional currency.. in the West Bank..

-        As for Gaza Strip deposits, they amounted in 2018 to 1,157 million dollars, of which 622 million dollars were non-interest-bearing, while the remainder, 535 million dollars, was interest-bearing....
As for banking facilities for the banking sector in 2018 ... that will follow later in Part Two of this publication. Noting that banking facilities amounted in 2018 to 8,437 million US dollars (eight billion four hundred thirty-seven million US dollars), an increase over 2017 of about 400 million dollars.. The amount of loans from these facilities was 6,991 million dollars .. and overdrafts (current accounts overdrawn) 1,371 million dollars..."

-        Date: 7-2-2019