I am pleased to confirm that Palestine Islamic bank reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption.
In this annual Communication on Progress, We describe our actions to increase compliance with the Global Compact and its principles and incorporate them into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to sharing this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.
Yours Sincerely
Maher Masri
Chairman of board

PIB endorses the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adheres to local laws and charters that guarantee individual rights. This is reflected in the implementation of policies and procedures that adopt equality and reject all forms of discrimination, which are adhered to in PIB’s daily practice. Likewise, PIB provides a comfortable internal environment for its staff, as well as employment benefits such as health insurance, married couple’s allowance and children’s allowance. Additionally, PIB has also specially tailored offices and facilities for use by both employees and clients with disabilities.

As part of PIB’s mission to strengthen the principles of human rights, it encourages other companies and organizations to adopt the principles of human rights by requiring all companies and suppliers that PIB deals with, to also adhere to the principles.

As part of PIB’s commitment to human rights, its internal systems and code of conduct allude to the need of its staff to refrain from any form of discrimination, whether gender-based or based on skin color, ethnicity, age, disability, political views and perspectives or religious beliefs. This is true both for the internal work environment and during the provision of services to the public.

Stemming from its position as a banking institution that believes in the right of every person to enjoy banking services, PIB has continued its efforts towards attaining financial inclusion through its banking network of 45 branches and offices and more than 80 ATMs that serve different population groups. Similarly, in 2020, PIB worked on strengthening its online services and set up a Digital Contact Center (DCC) that provides customers with banking services with speed and ease 24 hours a day via a variety of digital channels. This helps to facilitate convenient access to banking services for clients everywhere at all times.

These digital platforms have helped PIB to monitor complaints made by customers that have to do with financial services. This is in addition to the “complaints & suggestions” boxes that are available in all the branches and offices, which provide a means to monitor and resolve any issues or complaints in a timely manner and to prevent the issues from recurring.

PIB believes in its role to support different segments of society and the need to contribute to supporting the achievement of the SDGs. This is done through adopting sustainable social responsibility programmes, which are overseen by the most senior levels of Executive Management and the board of directors in order to ensure the desired objectives are achieved.

In light of the Coronavirus pandemic during 2020, PIB supported the national health sector to assist in providing comprehensive healthcare, by providing direct support to the Ministry of Health in the provision of medical supplies and other essentials to the health sector. In addition, PIB supported the setting up of centres for medical quarantining and other forms of support for numerous different health organizations at the national level.

PIB has also worked on contributing to addressing the economic impacts of the pandemic through supporting an endowment fund specifically set up for supporting those who have been negatively impacted by the economic effects of the pandemic. This is in addition to participating in a sustainability programme to fund medium and small enterprises throughout various sectors.

In addition to these contributions, PIB has offered its support to tens of organizations and bodies in the fields of education, humanitarian aid, women and children’s empowerment and care for people with disabilities, as well as other development projects. This includes completing the project of establishing desalinization plants in Gaza and increasing the number of plants to 12 to provide safe drinking water to tens of thousands of people in several different locations.

Throughout 2020, PIB continued to support people with disabilities and specialist organizations in this area, in addition to continuing to tailor the premises, branches and offices so that they can be used by people with physical disabilities and making ATMs suitable for use by people with visual impairments. This adds to the efforts that PIB is making to increase the skills of its workers in interacting with people with disabilities, such as through training them in sign language and Braille. Activities in this area within PIB first started in 2013, with the aim of attaining equal rights for all customers in their enjoyment of financial services and enabling them to manage their financial affairs with ease and simplicity.

PIB also complies with gender equality in competition for job opportunities, and in 2020, the number of female employees reached 189 from a total of 691 employees. A number of these women occupy senior positions and are considered decision makers in PIB, with supervision over some of the largest and most high-profile projects.

PIB likewise grants those with disabilities equal opportunities to compete for job opportunities, in conformity with the clauses of Law No. 4 of 1999, which relates to the disability rights in Palestine.

PIB assesses its adherence to the values and principles of human rights through a specific unit that routinely submits reports to Executive Management in addition to resolving any issues in a timely manner and addressing its root causes in order to prevent it from happening again.

PIB complies with all clauses related to workers’ rights and the work environment in the international declaration of the UN and other relevant international declarations. This is in addition to its ongoing compliance with the clauses of the Palestinian Labor Law. This includes the elimination of all forms of forced labor and combatting child labor and discrimination in the workplace, discrimination in recruitment, extortion and harassment.

PIB applies the clauses stipulated in the Palestinian Labor Law to do with workers’ rights. This is reflected in our interactions with workers in a way that is fair and equal and free from any form of discrimination. Workers are granted the right to put in a complaint against any violation that they may have endured, and PIB has a policy of open communication between employees and the management. Additionally, PIB has adopted a policy of recruitment whereby competency is considered a fundamental criterion for selection, and any other procedures that oppose with this are rejected, thereby ensuring that the work environment within the bank is safe and equitable.
PIB is keen to improve the living conditions of employees through providing them and their families with health insurance and providing them with competitive salaries. We also refrain from employing minors, and an annual appraisal is undertaken to ensure that there is no differential treatment.
At PIB, we believe that investing in our staff is essential to achieve success, and we are keen to develop their skills and increase their experience through giving them the opportunity to participate in trainings and local and overseas workshops. During 2020 alone, 74 internal and external training sessions were organized for employees of PIB. In parallel, employees are given the opportunity to climb the career ladder and develop within the organization, with clear standards in place for promotion and bonuses in a way that does not allow discrimination or impartiality.
PIB puts a lot of emphasis on preserving a positive ethos between staff members, as a priority to foster a healthy work environment. It seeks to achieve this through setting up social committees and organizing recreational meetings and activities as well as through establishing a special social media group for employees to strengthen and accelerate communication between them.
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, PIB has been keen to preserve the safety of its staff and customers by making prevention and safety equipment available and complying with the instructions of specialist authorities on this topic. PIB also took a set of internal measures, including the option of working remotely and splitting staff into groups and deploying them among different offices in order to ensure physical distancing. This is in addition to raising awareness among employees and customers of the essentials of preventing the disease through internal communications and campaigns on social media and putting in place plans by the internal oversight departments to ensure business continuity and the preservation of the safety of staff and customers

PIB assesses its commitment to the legal system through its units that study and evaluate its commitment to all the local laws and systems and global conventions on labor, including recruitment processes, equal opportunities, and prevention of any form of discrimination. These units produce periodic reports and submit them to Executive Management for their review and to study the causes of any shortcomings and addressing them to preventing their recurrence.

PIB complies with all clauses of the UN resolution “Towards a Global Pact for the Environment” and applies all the relevant local and international regulations and laws. Preserving the environment is considered a strategic objective and an essential part of its programme on social and sustainable responsibility.

PIB works to preserve the environment through a set of measures by which it aims to prevent any harm to the environment that may arise from the Bank’s daily activities. These measures include building solar plants to provide energy to branches and offices and reducing the consumption of paper in our daily exchanges. It also includes following a strategy to streamline the consumption of energy and raise awareness of the importance of protecting the environment among staff, and encouraging them to participate in raising awareness on this topic.
Solar plants are considered one of the most important measures PIB is taking to preserve the environment; they ultimately provide 15 branches and offices with power. Throughout 2020, solar power production reached more than 1.6 megawatts of electricity and each plant has a system of automatic panel cleaning, which provides a 10% increase in its rate of production.
Estimated emissions of harmful gases that have been avoided through using the solar powered system throughout 2020 equates to almost 2912 tons of carbon dioxide, 7 tons of nitrogen oxide and 62 kilograms of Sulphur dioxide.
On another front, PIB has created a digitalization strategy, which will factor substantially in reducing the consumption of paper through implementing much of daily work electronically. Similarly, PIB has been working on raising the awareness of employees on ways to conserve energy, in addition to replacing light bulbs and other devices that use a lot of energy with more efficient alternatives, installing systems of smart lighting and applying new and environmentally friendly ways of insulating buildings. This will help to reduce the consumption of energy used in heating and cooling systems.
These measures, alongside others, have formed a comprehensive strategy for PIB, contributing to it being considered as one of the best banks in Palestine when it comes to protecting the environment. As a result, PIB was awarded the prize of ‘Best Green Bank’ in Palestine.

Every year, PIB works to strengthen its environmental protection protocols and to reduce the risks and harms to the environment, increasing the dependency on clean energy. The relevant units prepare routine reports that monitor this topic and submit them to Executive Management, which welcomes regulatory steps by local specialist organizations like the Environmental Quality Authority to assess its performance on this front.

PIB adheres to all principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention against Corruption including, most importantly, tackling extortion and bribery. Similarly, PIB complies with all the local and international systems and laws on this front. These include directories published by the Palestinian Monetary Authority and the anti-corruption body. We work to counter this through internal regulations and protocols in a manner that will ensure work is undertaken in a transparent and impartial way. PIB has also issued internal policies for Anti-corruption and avoid conflicts of interest and whistleblowing with the aim of clarifying what is considered corrupt and formalizing the process of measures to combat corruption that the bank has adopted.

PIB works to combat all forms of corruption, while ensuring that the entirety of its daily activities are carried out with impartiality and transparency, to prevent all forms of extortion or bribery, and acknowledge the risks associated with the prevalence of corruption, whether at the bank level or local society. PIB makes every effort to combat corruption through a commitment to the laws and legislation and relevant memorandums published by the Palestinian Monetary Authority. This is in addition to the statutes and international trends aimed at ensuring adherence to rules of best practice and good governance, including recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and declarations made by the international Security Council and declarations of the Basel Committee on money laundering and terrorism financing. PIB also endorses comprehensive policy and measures adopted by the Board of Directors, which are amended routinely to ensure they are kept up to date.
PIB’s oversight services (Internal Audit, Compliance, Anti Money Laundering and Risk Management) are working on monitoring the bank’s adherence to the stipulations in the relevant laws and legislations in every aspect of its daily activities. The Board then elects an external auditor every year who reviews the financial processes and submits report’s results to the body in its annual meeting. In addition to this, PIB complies with routine disclosure of the results of its work and financial statements.
PIB also works to refrain from interacting with bodies or individuals that may have a relation in any way, shape or form to corruption. This is achieved through the requirement to identify the client before or after the relationship is established with them and refusing to engage with any party that does not want to provide this information in accordance with the law. Similarly, PIB refuses to engage with individuals or bodies that use fake names or banned names in accordance with the applicable legislation. PIB identifies all related parties by undertaking all the necessary relevant measures that have been adopted by the bank.
Internally, PIB applies strict procedures to maintain the security and confidentiality of customers’ information, in addition to strict disciplinary measures for any employee that does not comply with the PIB’s policy and puts customers’ data at risk of being stolen or lost.
PIB’s Board of Directors has endorsed a corporate governance framework, which was derived from best practices of governance locally, and internationally, especially the code of rules of governance for companies in Palestine, issued by the National Committee of Governance in 2009. As such, PIB adheres to the guides on rules and best practices of governance for banks in Palestine issued by the Monetary Authority, as well as the guide issued at the end of 2017. This is in addition to the best practices and international standards framework.
In accordance with PIB applying the rules of good governance, the composition of the Board of Directors is made up of 11 members, one of the conditions of good governance, whereby 3 members are independent, and one member represents the small-scale shareholders, thereby guaranteeing the participation of all shareholders in decisions making.

The controlling units undertake the monitoring of all the exchanges of PIB and draft routine reports, which are then submitted to Executive Management and Auditing Committee on the Board of Directors to ensure an absence of any issues and to address issues wherever they may arise. PIB also routinely revises its policies and protocols related to combatting corruption at the internal level and seeks to improve the skills of its employees in the oversight unit through their participation in relevant training and workshops.