Report: 13-Fold Increase in Hamas Budget Since 2005
Monday, 25 April 2011The budget of the Hamas movement is 13 times bigger since Israeli forces unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, according to the Israeli newspaper Maariv.
The Hebrew-language daily reported Friday that the Islamist party's annual budget has grown from $40 million to $540 million over the six-year period, despite Israel's illegal siege imposed in 2007.
According to Maariv, the revenue comes from taxes on tunnel operators, the Palestinian Authority and bribes from businessmen.
Taxes collected from tunnel operators bringing in goods from Egypt accounted for 14 percent of Hamas' income, the report said.
Maariv reported that Palestinian banks transferred $1.8 billion to Gaza each year. Most of that was from the PA, which channeled $1.1 billion annually into the coastal enclave.
The newspaper said the PA spent $500 million each year to cover 77,000 civil servants' salaries and pensions in Gaza. The PA also paid for public sector institutions including the Ministry of Health and for fuel and domestic gas bought from Israel, Maariv reported.
Additionally Hamas allowed businessmen to work freely in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a percentage of their profits, the report said.
The newspaper said Hamas had consolidated its control of the territory, paying the salaries of 40,000 Gaza residents including 21,000 militants and 11,000 police officers. Maariv said statements by Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh revealed that his government spent $250 million on salaries each year.
The party also controlled all municipal councils and ministries, allowing it to minimize expenses and direct more money to its own budget, the newspaper said.
Maariv reported that Hamas spent $30 million in East Jerusalem and the West Bank each year, but said it was not clear how the movement transferred the money to PA-controlled territory.
The newspaper also accused the Islamist movement of using international aid "creatively."
A clear assessment of the economic situation was unattainable as it was difficult to assess Hamas' income from around 400 smuggling tunnels, Maariv noted.
Meanwhile most official reports discuss the West Bank and Gaza together, and cover only official transactions, the newspaper said.
Maariv reported that Hamas retained some of its budget in the Gaza Strip to pay salaries, but most funds were kept in banks in Iran and Europe.
Bank Profits In Egypt 2007 - News
Taxes collected from tunnel operators bringing in goods from Egypt accounted for 14 percent of Hamas' income, the report said. Maariv reported that Palestinian banks transferred $1.8 billion to Gaza each year. Most of that was from the PA,
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Saudi banks poised for recovery in 2011 - Financial Services - Zawya
Banks have set enough provisions to cover all non-performing loans
Saudi Arabia's banks are expected to recover in 2011 as domestic economic conditions begin to improve and the banks have built up enough provisions against non performing loans, a local investment firm has said.
Profits by the Gulf Kingdom's 12 commercial banks have been stifled over the past three years by soaring non-performing loans because of the 2008 global fiscal distress and regional debt default problems, the Riyadh-based Jadwa Investments said in a study sent to Emirates 24/7.
Between the end of 2008 and end of 2010, non-performing loans of listed banks jumped by nearly SR10.2 billion or around 132 percent after being relatively stable over the previous five years, its figures showed.
Total bad loans of listed banks jumped from a low of 1.1 per cent of overall outstanding loans at the end of 2008 to 3.2 per cent at end of 2009, the highest level since 2003, before dropping to 2.7 per cent at end-2010.
The study said massive provisions for credit losses have distorted the earnings of banks over the past three years following years of high earnings.
"We think that banks have now cleaned their loan portfolios and that the share prices of banks are generally well positioned for a healthy recovery this year.
If listed banks' financial performance was unchanged on last year, but provisions for credit losses normalized, earnings per share would be 35 per cent higher this year than in 2010. With additional profit growth, banking sector earnings per share should grow by 42 per cent in 2011,"the study said.
"Owing to improved economic conditions we think that the amount of new non-performing loans should fall significantly. Furthermore, it appears that bulk of the provisioning for the debt built up over the previous few years is complete."
The report showed provisions for credit losses covered 109 per cent of bad loans at the end of last year, compared to 86 per cent at end-2009, which was the first year the loan-loss coverage ratio was below 100 per cent since 2001.
"Historically, loan-loss coverage for the sector has been much higher, averaging around 153 per cent between 2004 and 2008. However, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has stated that it is content with the total level of provisioning and that it is keen to see banks step up their lending," it said.
"Simply stripping out the effect of the large provisions for credit losses would have an important impact on bank profits. Applying the average level of provisioning from 2000 to 2010 earnings per share would mean much greater profits across the sector.
Bank Profits In Egypt 2007 - Bookshelf
The Report: Egypt 2007
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Al Watany Bank of Egypt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Egypt's Al Watany Bank 2007 net profit rises 157 pct | Reuters
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Credit Agricole Egypt 2007 profit rises to $95 mln | Reuters
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