Jordan’s central bank said it supported Arab Bank and was confident in the banks ability to defend itself against a U.S. ruling which found the country's top lender liable for financing Islamic militant group Hamas. The U.S. civil lawsuit brought against the Jordan-based bank has been described by lawyers as the first of its kind to reach trial. Jurors found the bank liable for giving material support to Hamas and said it must compensate victims of two dozen attacks attributed to the group in Israel and the Palestinian territories. “The Central Bank of Jordan remains confident about the strength of Arab Bank's banking operations and compliance procedures and its ability to withstand the likely repercussions of this litigation," Ziyad Fariz, Jordan's central bank governor said in an interview. The central bank's move comes after several warnings by the Jordanian government to U.S. officials about the impact of a negative ruling on Jordan's economy, given the bank makes up a quarter
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