Best bank: Bank of Palestine
The Palestinian economy was already slowing ahead of the October 7 attacks, but the situation has deteriorated sharply since then. Growth had fallen by 3% year on year across the territories in the first half of the year and by 4.4% in Gaza itself.
By the end of November, roughly 60% of ICT infrastructure, over 60% of health and education facilities and 70% of commerce-related infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed, along with nearly half of all primary, secondary and tertiary roads. The situation has deteriorated sharply since then.
The impact on the banks is of secondary concern in this situation, but will be profound. Approximately 85% of workers in the Gaza Strip have been out of work since the conflict started, along with close to 200,000 workers from the West Bank. Tourism in the West Bank has been hit, especially in Bethlehem and Jericho. According to the World Bank, by the end of last year, the estimated deviation from pre-conflict forecasts for the Palestinian economy was close to 7 percentage points of GDP for 2023, equivalent to approximately $1.5 billion.
Most of the 13 banks operating in the West Bank have long minimized their exposure to Gaza due to anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism risks. Bank of Palestine has been active, however, working with global communities to provide sanitation. This involves the development of 20 essential water, sanitation and hygiene units, aimed at mitigating the health risks and severe challenges faced by the population from to the lack of such critical facilities.
