Safwa Loan (IFC-51575)

Countries
  • Jordan
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
Safwa Islamic Bank
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 200.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Nov 23, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 20, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed project entails the following investment package to Safwa Islamic Bank (SIB, Bank): (i) a 5-year senior unsecured financing facility up to of up to US$100 million, from own account and mobilization, structured as an Islamic finance product; (ii) possible additional financing of  up to US$50 million, including mobilization, to be considered at a later stage and after the disbursement of (i); and (iii) an up to US$50 million GTFP trade line for up to one year tenor (the “Project”).

SIB is an Islamic private-sector bank headquartered in Amman, Jordan. The senior financing facility proceeds will be earmarked to on-lending to both Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and climate-eligible projects. The proceeds for the possible additional financing are expected to be earmarked to support green buildings in Jordan.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The Project consists of a Sustainability Loan and a trade finance line under the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) to Safwa Islamic Bank (SIB) in Jordan. The Sustainability Loan’s use of proceeds will include MSMEs and climate-eligible sub-projects, including Green Buildings and climate-smart SMEs.

The E&S risks and potential impacts associated with the supported MSME activities and climate-eligible projects are considered limited and readily addressed through mitigation measures. Thus, the Project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy. 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The total project cost includes (i) a 5-year senior unsecured financing facility up to of up to US$100 million including mobilization, structured as an Islamic finance product; (ii) possible additional financing of up to US$50 million, including mobilization, to be considered at a later stage and after the disbursement of (i); and (iii) a trade line of up to US$50 million with up to one year tenor under the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP).

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

SIB is a private sector Islamic bank in Jordan, headquartered in Amman. Founded in 1965 as the state-owned Industrial Development Bank, it converted to Islamic operations in 2010 and was rebranded as Safwa in 2017 following a change in ownership. As of December 2024, Safwa was the third largest Islamic bank in Jordan (and eighth largest bank overall) with total assets reaching JOD 3.74 billion (US$5.3 billion) as of June 2025.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Safwa Islamic Bank
Ahmad Ghnaim
CFO
+9626460?2100
ahmad.ghnaim@safwabank.com
Building No. 38, Suleiman Al-Nabulsi Street, Abdali (Al-Abdali Area), Amman 11118, Jordan
www.safwabank.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

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ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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