Ramallah - Safa Bank held its ordinary and extraordinary general assembly meeting for the year 2023 on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at the headquarters in Ramallah, with an attendance rate of 61% in person. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of Safa Bank, Mr. Yazid Adnan Al-Mufti, the Vice Chairman, His Excellency Mr. "Mohammad Kamal" Hassouna, the representative of the Sharia Supervisory Board, Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Al-Kilani via Zoom, along with a number of board members, General Director Mr. Bayan Qassem, the executive management, the representative of the Companies Controller, Mr. Bilal Kattaneh, the representative of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, Mr. Ahmed Marar, the representative of the Capital Market Authority, Mr. Murad Al-Jadba, the external auditor - Ernst & Young Company, Mr. Saed Abdullah, and the legal advisor, Mr. Mohannad Assaf, in addition to the presence of the bank's shareholders.

During its ordinary meeting, the general assembly approved the Board of Directors' report on the bank’s operations for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2023, the auditors' report, the financial statements, and the report of the Sharia Supervisory Board for the same fiscal period. It also ratified the appointment of Dr. Suhail Al-Ahmad as a member of the Sharia Supervisory Board.

The assembly discharged the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2023, and elected Ernst & Young Company as the bank’s auditors for the fiscal year 2024, authorizing the Board of Directors to determine their fees.

In its extraordinary meeting, the general assembly approved the items on its agenda, which included reducing the bank's capital by the amount of accumulated losses as of December 31, 2023, and increasing the bank’s capital by the amount of the amortized losses. The Board of Directors was authorized to make the necessary decisions to determine the mechanism, method, and timing of the increase in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Law and applicable regulations, and in coordination with relevant regulatory authorities. Additionally, the proposed amendments to the bank's Articles of Incorporation and internal regulations were approved to comply with the new Companies Law, and the amended Articles of Incorporation and internal regulations were adopted.

In his speech during the meeting, the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Yazid Al-Mufti, said: "Al-Safa Bank has successfully continued to provide its services through its branches and offices, offering the best to our clients as part of our efforts to understand their changing needs and meet their aspirations, while adhering to the principles of Islamic methodology and striving to balance the interests of all stakeholders. We aim to fulfill our strategy of digital transformation to expand new digital products."

Al-Mufti added: "The bank's financial statements showed that its total assets amounted to approximately 446 million USD, compared to 410 million USD at the end of 2022. The financing portfolio reached 302 million USD compared to 295 million USD at the end of 2022, with a growth rate of about 3%. Total deposits, including special investment, amounted to 373 million USD compared to 315 million USD at the end of 2022, with a growth rate of 18%."

Finally, the Chairman thanked all the bank’s shareholders, clients, and depositors for their high trust. He also appreciated the efforts of the Palestinian Monetary Authority and all regulatory representatives for their support and assistance to the bank. He expressed his pride in the Sharia Supervisory Board members and all the bank’s human resources.

General Manager Bayan Qassem stated: "The bank has maintained its efforts to meet the needs of the Palestinian market for banking services and products based on the principles of Islamic banking."

He added: "The bank continued to provide modern banking products and services based on Islamic Sharia to meet the aspirations of all partners. It looks forward to opening more branches and offices to cover all cities and regions of the West Bank. The bank is keen to meet the aspirations and needs of its clients while adhering to the principles of Islamic methodology and striving to balance the interests of all stakeholders and fulfill the bank’s strategy."

He continued: "The bank successfully implemented its development initiative to introduce safe Islamic digital banking products to meet the needs of different segments of society, saving time and effort in completing their banking transactions. This was done under Islamic financing formulas and under the direct supervision of the Sharia Supervisory Board, which has extensive experience in Islamic banking locally, regionally, and globally. We look forward to achieving further accomplishments in digital transformation to expand new digital products."