Palestine Monetary Authority

PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY

Circular No. (168/2015)

To all banks operating in Palestine

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2015

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Subject: Cooperative Societies Accounts

Attached is a letter from His Excellency the Minister of Labor, Dr. Mamoun Abu Shihla, No. (10448), dated 2015/09/02, regarding cooperative societies accounts at banks operating in Palestine. Accordingly, please take the necessary legal action regarding this matter, and cancel anything that conflicts with it.

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Supervision and Inspection Department
Palestine Monetary Authority

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Copy: His Excellency the Minister of Labor, Dr. Mamoun Abu Shihla, may God protect him

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Ramallah - Palestine P.O. Box 452 | Tel: +970 2 2415250 | Fax: +970 2 2409922 | Phone: +970 2 2415250 | Fax: +970 2 2409922 | Ramallah - Palestine P.O. Box 452 Gaza - Palestine PO Box 4026 | Tel: +970 8 2825292 | Fax: +970 8 2844487 | Phone: +970 8 2825292 | Fax: +970 8 2844487 | Gaza - Palestine P.O. Box 4026 Email: info@pma.ps | Email: info@pma.ps www.pma.ps

State of Palestine

Ministry of Labor

Deputy Minister's Office

Date: 02-09-2015
Date: 30/08/2015
P.O. Box: 210

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To His Excellency Dr. Jihad Al-Wazir... may God protect him

Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority

Greetings,

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Subject: Cooperative Societies Accounts at Banks

The Ministry of Labor extends its greetings and appreciation for the excellent and distinctive efforts to serve our homeland and Palestinian sector. Regarding the above subject, and following our previous correspondence addressed to your office on this matter, and given the difficulties cooperative societies face in opening accounts at banks, we kindly request that you direct letters to the banks containing the following:

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1- Emphasize that the Ministry of Labor, represented by the General Directorate of Cooperatives, is the sole authority supervising the operation and registration of cooperative societies, and responsible for their financial, legal, and administrative oversight, in accordance with the provisions of the Cooperatives Law No. (17) of 1956 in the northern governorates and the Cooperatives Societies Law No. 50 of 1933 in the southern governorates. There is no other supervisory authority, as banks currently request letters from other ministries for these societies.

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2- A condition for registering any cooperative society is that the names of members who have paid the registration fee must be collected and deposited in the bank under the society's name pending registration, and a bank statement confirming the deposit of these amounts must be attached to the society's registration application as part of the registration justifications. Banks should be contacted regarding this via a letter issued by the Director General of the General Directorate of Cooperatives, Mr. Youssef Mohammad Al-Aissa, to open an account under the society's name pending establishment, listing only the authorized depositors so they may deposit the funds. At this stage, the society has not yet obtained a registration certificate, nor does it have certified bylaws or a founding contract.

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3- Some banks request documents from cooperative societies prior to registration that have not yet been issued. After the registration application is submitted—which includes the bylaws, founding contract, and other justifications—the society is registered, assigned a registration number, issued a registration certificate, and its bylaws and founding contract are certified. Only then can these documents be provided to the banks.

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4- After the society is registered, a general assembly meeting must be held to elect an authorized management committee responsible for withdrawals, deposits, and account management. The banks should then be notified of the names of the society's authorized representatives.

We request that this be circulated to the banks to facilitate cooperation in this area.

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Thank you for your kind cooperation.

With respect and appreciation,

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State of Palestine
Ministry of Labor
Deputy Minister's Office

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Copy – File

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Ramallah: ☎ 2982800 | ☎ 2982827 | Fax: 2982801 | Fax: 2982827 | Phone: 2982800 | Ramallah: P.O. Box 350 Website: http://www.mol.pna.ps | http://www.lmis.pna.ps