TNB acquires Bank al Etihad in Palestine

(MENAFN- Arab News) The National Bank (TNB) headquartered in Ramallah Palestine has announced the signing of a definitive acquisition agreement with Bank Al-Etihad (Etihad) headquartered in Amman Jordan to acquire Etihad's operations in Palestine

Bank Al-Etihad one of the largest banks in Jordan was established in 1978 and has been operating in Palestine since 1995.

The announcement was made during a press conference in Ramallah in the presence of Jihad Alwazir governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Talal Nasereddin TNB chairman Issam Salfiti Etihad chairman Hatem Sirhan the companies controller in addition to the board members of both banks senior managements of various banks and companies as well as the media.

Nasereddin announced that TNB with a capital of $75 million will acquire Etihad's operations in Palestine and Etihad will own a 10 percent stake in TNB as well as assume one seat on TNB's board.

Nasereddin added: 'This transaction is the first of its kind in the Palestinian banking sector whereby an indigenous Palestinian bank acquires a Jordanian bank noting that Jordanian banks in Palestine hold a significant share of the banking sector.'

The Etihad acquisition would mark the second M&A transaction for TNB which was born in 2012 out of the merger of Alrafah Microfinance Bank and the Arab Palestinian Investment Bank.

The bank's assets grew by 284 percent reaching $606 million at the end of Q3 2014 up from $158 million at the end of 2010.

Customer deposits grew by 384 percent reaching $387 million compared to $80 million at the end of 2010. Credit facilities also grew to reach $299 million at the end of Q3 2014 a 610 percent increase from $42 million at the end of 2010.'