Arab Bank: Difference between revisions
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== The Founder: The Indomitable Arab == |
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The '''Arab Bank''', formed in [[1930]], is a prominent financial institution in the [[Arab]] world, with 400 branches and offices in 25 countries.<ref name="almogvarabbank">[http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20070130/DCTU03030012007-1.html Israeli Terrorism Victims Win Major Victory in Landmark Arab Bank Case]</ref> Its parent company is Arab Bank [[plc]] incorporated in [[Amman]], [[Jordan]], where its headquarters are also located.<ref name="almogvarabbank"/> The bank was founded by [[Abdul Hameed Shoman]] in [[Jerusalem]] during the time of the [[British mandate]]<sup>[http://www.arabank.com/ABDATA/2004e.pdf]</sup>. The bank's chairman, [[Abdul Majid Shoman]], died [[July 6]], [[2005]] at the age of 94. |
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Arab Bank's history is interlinked with that of the Shoman family and its founder Abdel Hameed Shoman, whose personal life reads as an extraordinary tale of success for his time and age. |
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Born in 1890 in the Palestinian village of Beit Hanina, four miles North of Jerusalem, Shoman was raised in a stone hut, where he began his career at the age of seven as a stone mason working in construction sites. |
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With ambitions exceeding his age and spanning further than the borders of his village and country, Shoman emigrated to the United States of America at the age of 20 with only USD 32 in hand and became a door-to-door salesman, selling dry-good products in New York and Baltimore. His consecutive successes led him to expand and start a dress-making factory in Manhattan’s garment district. |
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Despite his success, Shoman was feeling home-sick and began to be consumed with an even larger vision: The establishment of a bank with joint Arab participation, a bank that would play a significant role in shaping the lives of nations and their economies. |
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== A Vision Fulfilled == |
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Shoman decided to return to Palestine. No sooner had he arrived home for the first time since he left to the new world than he arranged for a meeting in Cairo with Tal’at Pasha Harb, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Egypt. Shoman proposed the idea of establishing a joint Egyptian-Palestinian bank, with a capital of 100,000 Palestinian Pounds; however, political developments in the region forced Harb to put the project on hold. |
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Nonetheless, Shoman was determined to move forward. With seven investors, and a startup capital of 15,000 Palestinian Pounds, Arab Bank was registered on May 21st, 1930, and commenced its operations in Jerusalem on July 14th of the same year. Finally, Shoman’s vision was fulfilled. |
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== Lawsuit == |
== Lawsuit == |
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Revision as of 11:18, 17 February 2008
The Founder: The Indomitable Arab
Arab Bank's history is interlinked with that of the Shoman family and its founder Abdel Hameed Shoman, whose personal life reads as an extraordinary tale of success for his time and age. Born in 1890 in the Palestinian village of Beit Hanina, four miles North of Jerusalem, Shoman was raised in a stone hut, where he began his career at the age of seven as a stone mason working in construction sites. With ambitions exceeding his age and spanning further than the borders of his village and country, Shoman emigrated to the United States of America at the age of 20 with only USD 32 in hand and became a door-to-door salesman, selling dry-good products in New York and Baltimore. His consecutive successes led him to expand and start a dress-making factory in Manhattan’s garment district. Despite his success, Shoman was feeling home-sick and began to be consumed with an even larger vision: The establishment of a bank with joint Arab participation, a bank that would play a significant role in shaping the lives of nations and their economies.
A Vision Fulfilled
Shoman decided to return to Palestine. No sooner had he arrived home for the first time since he left to the new world than he arranged for a meeting in Cairo with Tal’at Pasha Harb, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Egypt. Shoman proposed the idea of establishing a joint Egyptian-Palestinian bank, with a capital of 100,000 Palestinian Pounds; however, political developments in the region forced Harb to put the project on hold. Nonetheless, Shoman was determined to move forward. With seven investors, and a startup capital of 15,000 Palestinian Pounds, Arab Bank was registered on May 21st, 1930, and commenced its operations in Jerusalem on July 14th of the same year. Finally, Shoman’s vision was fulfilled.
Lawsuit
As of 2007, the bank is the subject of a lawsuit because it is alleged that the Bank processed financial transfers to family members of terrorists, including suicide bombers. The Bank denies these allegations. On January 31, 2007 a federal judge ruled that lawsuits against the bank could go forward in the United States. [1]
External links
References
- ^ ARAB BANK TERROR FINANCING CASE TO GO FORWARD, New York Post
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