Othman Sawafta

The aim of the study is to compare credit risk between commercial and Islamic banks in Palestine. The study uses five commercial banks and two Islamic banks, so the Merton model is used to test the hypothesis regarding the research question. Also, cumulative logistic probability distributions are used to derive the probability of default from distance to default. The findings show that commercial banks encompass less credit risk than Islamic banks. Thus, the study recommends that financial institutions in Palestine master management skills and operational systems to cope with the financial environment. They need to increase research and training programs in risk management. Besides, there is a need to reduce lending to public sector (government). There is also a need for a focus on mergers, especially for smaller banks, to increase their capital, so that there are banking units that can compete in providing better customer services and contributing to the stability of the banking sector.

Acknowledgment
The author is thankful to Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie for funding this research.