RAMALLAH, July 27, 2017 (WAFA) – The transformation of the Palestinian Monetary Fund (PMF) into a central bank is in its final stages, the head of the PMF Azzam Shawwa said on Thursday.

Shawwa told crowds at the opening of local bank branch in Rawabi, north of Ramallah, that “I hope that the next time I will stand in front of you I will represent the Palestinian Central Bank. We are in the last stages before we submit the file to President Abbas to take the necessary legal measures to change into a central  bank.”

He said 317 bank branches operate in Palestine with assets approaching $15 billion and property rights of $1.7 billion.

Palestine does not yet have a national currency and instead uses the Israeli shekel, Jordanian dinar and US dollar in daily transactions.

M.K.