The bank’s current CEO and deputy chairman is Abdul Hamid. The bank was established in Jerusalem in 1930 by his grandfather, Abdul Hameed Shoman as he recorded, “not to make a profit but to serve the Arabs of Palestine and their national welfare”.

Branches were established in all major towns in Palestine and in the capitals of neighbouring Arab countries. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the bank lost its branches in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Egypt, but still honoured its deposit obligations. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Arab Bank moved its headquarters to the Jordanian capital, Amman, although a few branches remained open in the major cities of the West Bank until the Six-Day War in 1967.

It is a testament to the quality of the Shoman family’s management and foresight – and particularly that of Abdul Majeed (pictured, deceased 2005), the founder’s son, that Arab Bank not only survived the political and military turmoil of the Middle East, but also thrived. His actions during the 1989 economic collapse, and his support of the Jordanian dinar after the death of King Hussein, are now thought to have saved the country from crisis. At the end of 2004 the bank’s assets had grown to just over US$35bn.

On the death of his father in 1974, Abdul Majed Shoman became chairman of the bank. During his career at the helm, he opened 378 branches in 27 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, and made Arab Bank one of the most widespread Arab-owned financial institutions in the world. Listed in Amman, Arab Bank’s shareholders include the Governments of Jordan and Saudi Arabia and the heirs of the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who control a 9% stake in the bank.

Today, Arab Bank is ranked among the largest international financial institutions, with a rating of A- from Fitch, A- from Standard & Poor and A3 from Moody’s and has a capital base of over US$5.5bn and total assets of over US$30.5bn. The bank has 400 branches spanning 29 countries in five continents.