Bank of Palestine (BoP) Wins the MEIRS Award for "Best Company for Investor Relations in Palestine" and Launches its New Investor Relations Website

ABU DHABI, UAE, December 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• BoP was announced the winner of the Middle East IR Society award for "Best Company for Investor Relations in Palestine" at the largest IR Conference ever hosted in the Middle East
• BoP launches its new Investor Relations website: http://www.bop.ps/ir

Bank of Palestine (BoP) was awarded the "Best Company for Investor Relations in Palestine" award at the 4^th annual Middle East Investor Relations Society (ME-IRSociety) Conference and Awards Ceremony held at the Park Hyatt, Saadiyat Island, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The conference was the largest Investor Relations Conference (IR) ever hosted in the Middle East.

The event brought together listed and unlisted firms, family offices, investors, analysts, advisors, participants of the buy- and sell-side communities and exchanges. Senior level delegates attended from the Society's different chapters.

The Awards ceremony, revealed the Middle East companies that had adopted the highest standards of IR. The winners were voted for by 293 individuals from 137 buy-side and sell-side organisations in the Middle East, the US, UK and Continental Europe in an independent IR survey by Thomson Reuters' Extel. The Extel Middle East survey has been in existence since 2008 and has continuously tracked the highest IR performers in the region.

Bank of Palestine's Investor Relations programme is built to increase investor confidence as the bank is committed to the principles of transparency and responsiveness. Hashim Shawa, Chairman and General Manager of Bank of Palestine stated: "We are pleased to be recognized for our commitment to best IR and corporate governance practices, transparent and effective disclosures and communications with our investors, and our efforts to actively engage the financial community."

Shawa also pointed out to one of the bank's main objectives, which is keeping both the customer and shareholder at the core of the company's strategy to ensure long term success: "In order to attract both foreign and local investors we need to meet their demands and the demands of ever increasing standards, especially in these very difficult financial times we witness around the world.  We consider top quality shareholder service and satisfaction through IR is equally as important as customer service and satisfaction at the bank."

Bank of Palestine's new IR Website

As part of the bank's Investor Relations programme and its investor outreach efforts, Bank of Palestine launched a dedicated Investor Relations Website (http://www.bop.ps/ir). The website gathers a wealth of useful information for investors, and serves as a medium through which shareholders can quickly and easily obtain publicly available information about Bank of Palestine.  

The bank's IR website has been designed to provide both local and foreign investors with relevant information, and to be easy to use, navigate, and meet the needs of both individual investors and sophisticated fund managers.

The bank's website includes information such as: stock information, financial data, annual and semi-annual reports and presentations, disclosures, information on the board of directors and the management team, major shareholders, historical information on dividends and corporate actions, in addition to dedicated sections on the bank's corporate governance and sustainability strategy.

The bank has plans to continue the development of its IR website by introducing Arabic and Spanish versions, in addition to continuously updating and adding relevant information, and introducing new technologies to enhance the communications and interaction with investors.

About Bank of Palestine (BoP)

Bank of Palestine has a long embedded presence and experience in Palestine dating back to 1960.  The bank is now the largest Palestinian bank with the most widespread branch network in Palestine, a paid up capital of $134 million, and assets of over $1.7 billion, with 1,100 employees serving around 600,000 customers.  Operating as a universal bank, BoP is engaged in retail, corporate, micro and SME, and Diaspora banking operations, with the largest card processing operations in Palestine; BoP is the sole agent for issuing and acquiring Visa and MasterCard in Palestine with over 5,000 Point of Sale merchant terminals nationwide.  Recently, BoP has also been playing a leading role in some of the largest project finance loan syndications in Palestine. Bank of Palestine adopts a holistic sustainability strategy and has been the leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Palestine dedicating 5% of its net profit to community development.

Bank of Palestine's stock (PEX: BOP) has been listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX) since 2005. It is among the market's blue chip stocks, and represents around 14% of total PEX market capitalization.  

For more information, please contact:
Raya Sbitany - Head of Investor Relations
Raya.sbitany@bankofpalestine.com
Mobile: +972-595-746555
http://www.bop.ps/ir