Khalid Shoman grew up in Jerusalem. While he was studying at the St. Georges School in the 30s and 40s, the Arab Bank was consolidating itself, opening branches in different cities throughout the Arab World. In 1937, his father was among those jailed by the British in the Sarafand prison during the times of the Great Rebellion of 1936-1939. This experience convinced Abdul Hameed that he could serve his nation better through his financial institution than through political activism. His decision to do so enabled the Arab Bank to survive the wars and political upheavals that stormed the region. Khalid carried on his father's philosophy with equal determination.

The Palestine war of 1948 forced the Shoman family to emigrate. Khalid pursued his secondary education at the reputable Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt. Friendships were born there that lasted a lifetime. The move from Jerusalem to the more cosmopolitan city of Alexandria opened new horizons for him, which expanded after he graduated and traveled to England to study at Cambridge University. At that time, Europe was still recovering from the aftermath of the Second World War. The British people were reeling under the burden of rations and reconstruction, yet Khalid was able to experience and enjoy the British cultural life of the theater, the museums, the art galleries and sports.

 
St. Georges Primary School in Jerusalem, in the late 1930's
   

A reunion of Khalid's friends, the old Victorians, with His Majesty King Hussein

Khalid at Victoria College, late 1940's
 

In 1955, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and later, in 1959, he received his Masters of Arts degree. Immediately after graduating with his BA, he started his training at the Midland Bank in London.

Enriched by his life and education abroad, Khalid returned to Jordan a year later to work next to his father and his older brother, Abdul Majeed, in developing the growing Arab Bank. In 1956, Khalid was appointed Assistant Deputy General Manager and, in 1957, he was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Bank. Shortly thereafter, the Bank went through a difficult period: it had to cope with the nationalization of several of the Bank's branches in numerous Arab countries and with the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

  

Khalid obtained his BA from Cambridge University in 1955