The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA; ar, سلطة النقد الفلسطينية) is the emerging
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central b ...
of
Palestine. The PMA, located in
Ramallah, was established in 1994 following the signing of the
Protocol on Economic Relations (Paris Protocol) between the Palestinians and Israel. It is an independent public institution responsible for the formulation and implementation of monetary and banking policies, to safeguard the banking sector and to ensure the growth of the national economy in a balanced manner.
PMA supervises the 13 Palestinian and foreign banks operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is not responsible for the issue of a
Palestinian currency.
PMA operates under the authority of PMA Law Number 2 of 1997, an act of the
Palestine Legislative Council, and the Banking Law Number 9 of 2010.
The logo of the PMA pays homage to the
Palestinian pound
The Palestine pound ( ar, جُنَيْه فِلَسْطَينِيّ, ; he, פוּנְט פַּלֶשְׂתִינָאִי (א״י), funt palestina'i (eretz-yisra'eli) or he, לירה (א״י), lira eretz-yisra'elit, link=no; Sign: £P) was the ...
, minted and circulated under the
British Mandate. The logo contains the name of the PMA in English and Arabic, written on the historic 5 mils coin.
Objectives
PMA aims to maintain monetary and financial stability and to promote sustainable economic growth through:
* effective and transparent regulation and supervision of banks, specialized lending institutions and money changers operating in Palestine.
* overseeing the implementation and operation of modern, efficient payment systems.
* development and execution of monetary policy designed to achieve
price stability Price stability is a goal of monetary and fiscal policy aiming to support sustainable rates of economic activity. Policy is set to maintain a very low rate of inflation or deflation. For example, the European Central Bank (ECB) describes price s ...
.
PMA is active in promoting
financial inclusion
Financial inclusion is defined as the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to a process by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and service ...
policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
PMA vision
PMA's vision is to be a full-fledged and a modern central bank for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, capable of achieving monetary stability and keeping inflation under control, and maintaining financial stability, thereby contributing to further development in the Palestinian financial sector, promoting integration into the regional and global economy, and ultimately, fostering high rates of sustainable economic growth in the Palestinian territories.
Governors
The governors of the PMA have been:
*
Fouad Bseiso, December 1994 - November 2001
*
Amin Haddad, December 2001 - February 2005
*
George al-Abed, February 2005 - November 2007
*
Jihad al-Wazir, January 2008 - November 2015
*
Azzam Shawwa, November 2015 - January 2021
*
Feras Milhem, January 2021 —
See also
*
Economy of the Palestinian territories
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine.
History
GDP per capita in the Palestinian territories rose by 7% per year from 1968 to 1980 but slowed during the 1980s. Between 1970 and 1991 l ...
*
List of central banks
.
Central banks
Central banks
Central banks
This is a list of central banks. Countries that are only partially recognized internationally are marked with an asterisk (*).
Disappeared central banking jurisdictions
* – Bank of Amsterdam (1 ...
References
External links
*
Official PMA Facebook PageOfficial PMA Twitter PageOfficial PMA Youtube Page
{{Authority control
Palestine
Economy of the State of Palestine
1994 establishments in the Palestinian territories
Organizations established in 1994