Early Warning System

Countries

Palestine, West Bank, Gaza

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

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."

Voting Date

Jun 11, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Quds 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)

$ 10.00 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 @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Aug 11, 2025

Disclosed by Bank May 8, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

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 project consists of the provision of a USD 10.0 million (EUR 8.8 million) financing package in favor of Quds Bank, comprised of: (i) a USD 8.0 million loan under the WB&G Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) for gender-responsive on-lending to eligible MSMEs and residential sub-borrowers based in the West Bank; and (ii) a USD 2.0 million Women in Business (WiB) loan for on-lending to eligible women-led businesses in the West Bank.

The GEFF loan will be accompanied by a comprehensive package of incentive grants and technical assistance funded by the European Union (EU) through the Sustainable Growth4All Program. The WiB loan will be accompanied by a 20% first-loss risk cover (FLRC) funded by the EU through its Initiative for Financial Inclusion (Neighbourhood Investment Facility - SEMED Financial Inclusion Program).

The GEFF loan will enable Quds Bank to scale up green investments in the West Bank through gender responsive on-lending to MSME and residential sub-borrowers for small-scale renewable energy, water, energy and resource efficiency projects, including the circular economy concept, and support of relevant green technology supply chains. The WiB loan will be exclusively dedicated to supporting women-led businesses, a largely underbanked segment of the Palestinian economy.

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.

Categorised FI (ESP 2024). Quds Bank, an existing client, has demonstrated satisfactory environmental and social (E&S) performance under its current exposures. The proceeds will be used for i) on-lending to MSMEs and residential sub-borrowers based in the West Bank for eligible green investments, and ii) on-lending to eligible women-led businesses in the West Bank, which are considered low to medium risk from an E&S perspective.

Investment Description

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

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

USD 10,000,000 out of EBRD's WB&G Net Income Allocation Trust Fund, split between:

(i) USD 8,000,000 for WB&G Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF); and

(ii) USD 2,000,000 for WB&G Women in Business Facility (WiB).

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.

Quds Bank (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.

Quds Bank ("QB") is one of the largest banks operating in the Palestinian market and has been listed on the Palestine Exchange since 1997. Major shareholders include the Abdul-Latif Jarab family (ca. 30%, including Akram Abdul-Latif Jarab who holds 18%), Palestinian Pension Agency (17%) and Jordan Kuwait Bank (11%), with the remaining shareholders owning under 5% each. QB is an existing client with an active TFP limit of USD 15m and a USD 8.0m SME loan.

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.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

Kais Zuhaika, Head of Financial Institutions
Kais.Zuhaika@qudsbank.ps
+970 599 8200 65
+ 970 2 2983321
www.qudsbank.ps
Al-Masyoun, P.O Box 2471fa, Ramallah, Palestine

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html