‘They’ Have Names
Ending the anonymity surrounding bank ownership and management is the first step towards accountability for Lebanon’s financial crisis
Cross Contamination: The Banking Interests Plaguing Public Office in Lebanon
The Alternative’s investigation of Lebanon’s banking sector reveals conflicts of interest behind the country’s financial and political masters
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Bank of Beirut
Founded: 1963Total Assets*: US$12.09 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$9.62 billionRanking by Assets*: 7 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Realty Business Bank SAL opened in 1963 and was renamed Bank of Beirut in 1970. In 1992, with just five branches operating in Lebanon, the company was purchased by a group of Lebanese bankers and […]
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Bank Audi
Founded: 1962Total Assets*: US$27.0 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$20.2 billionRanking by Assets*: 1 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022 converted at 1507.5 LBP/USD) Background From humble beginnings as an exchange house in Saida established in 1830 that extended credit to farmers,1↓Hicham Safieddine, Banking on the State: The Financial Foundations of Lebanon, Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and […]
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BBAC
Founded: 1956Total Assets*: US$7.21 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$4.97 billionRanking by Assets*: 10 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) History Bank of Beirut and Arab Countries (BBAC) was established by three Lebanese investment magnets – Toufic Assaf, Nashaat Skheikhelard, and Jamal Shehaiber – in 1956. Assaf remained Chairman and General Manager until 1996 when, following his […]
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Bankmed
Founded: 1944Total Assets*: US$15.53 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$11.64 billionRanking by Assets*: 5 (*as of Dec 31, 2019, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background BankMed SAL (formerly known as Banque de la Méditerranée SAL) was founded in 1944 in Beirut.1Diebold Nixdorf, ‘Bankmed Launches First Deployment Of DN SeriesTM In Lebanon’, accessed 13 March 2023, https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bankmed-launches-first-deployment-of-dn-series-tm-in-lebanon-835063702.html.↓ Today, the bank is closely associated with two-term […]
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Credit Libanais
Founded: 1961Total Assets*: US$9.09 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$6.78 billionRanking by Assets*: 9 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Credit Libanais was founded in 1961 as a Lebanese joint stock company. The bank’s current Chairman-General Manager, Joseph Torbey, is a veteran of both the Lebanese financial and political scenes. His career in the banking sector includes […]
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Byblos Bank
Founded: 1950Total Assets*: US$17.24 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$13.2 billionRanking by Assets*: 4 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) History Businessman Semaan Bassil Sr. and his brother Youssef Melkan Bassil established Société Commerciale et Agricole Byblos Bassil Frères & Co. in 1950, renaming it Byblos Bank in 1963 after their city of origin.1‘Banks in Lebanon’, Ostamyy, accessed 01 March 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20140328064540/http://www.ostamyy.com/banks/Lebanon.htm↓ […]
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MEAB
Founded: 1991Total Assets*: US$1.46 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$1.41 billionRanking by Assets*: 20 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Middle East and Africa Bank SAL (MEAB) was set up in 1991 by the Hojeij family.1‘History’, MEAB bank of Lebanon, 18 September 2013, https://www.meabank.com/about/history.↓ Its current chairman is Ali Hojeij.2↓‘MEAB Announces New Board Chairman’, MEAB bank of Lebanon, […]
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Lebanese Swiss Bank
Founded: 1962Total Assets*: US$2.87 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$2.42 billionRanking by Assets*: 19 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Lebanese Swiss Bank (LSB) was founded in 1962. In 1973, the bank was bought by Credit Suisse and henceforth operated under the Credit Suisse (Moyen Orient) SAL.1‘Overview – LSB’, accessed 13 July 2023, https://www.lebaneseswissbank.com/about-us/overview.↓ In 1988, the bank […]
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Fransabank
Founded: 1921Total Assets*: US$15.06 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$12.34 billionRanking by Assets*: 6 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background First established as a Lebanese branch of Crédit Foncier D’Algérie et de Tunisie (CFAT) in 1921, Fransabank is the oldest registered bank in Lebanon. The bank changed name and ownership multiple times until Adnan and Adel Kassar bought a majority shareholding in […]
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Creditbank
Founded: 1981Total Assets*: US$3.68 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$2.97 billionRanking by Assets*: 13 (*as of Dec 31, 2020, Bilanbanques 2021, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Creditbank was founded in 1981 under the name Credit Bancaire by Joseph Khalife and Fouad Zoghby. It acquired Credit Lyonnais SAL, the local subsidiary of the French bank Credit Lyonnais, in 2002, and changed its name to Creditbank.1↓Creditbank, […]
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Saradar
Founded: 2016Total Assets*: US$2.04 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$1.73 billionRanking by Assets*: 18 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background The Saradar family established its first financial enterprise in 1948 when Marius Saradar registered a joint stock company under the name Banque Saradar SAL in 1956.1‘Our Story – Saradar Group’, accessed 13 July 2023, http://www.saradarcollection.com/english/Our-Story.↓ Marius’ son Joe ascended to […]
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BEMO
Founded: 1994Total Assets*: US$2.40 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$1.67 billionRanking by Assets*: 17 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Banque Bemo SAL was established in 1994 by the Obegi Group, a conglomerate of companies owned by a family of the same name.1‘Ownership Structure | Banque Bemo’, accessed 13 July 2023, https://www.bemobank.com/ownership-structure.↓ 2↓‘The Group – Obegi Group’, accessed […]
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BLC
Founded: 1949Total Assets*: US$3.50 billionCustomer Deposits*: US$2.80 billionRanking by Assets*: 16 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background The Abou Jaoudeh family founded BLC in 1949 under the name Banque Libanaise pour le Commerce.1‘BLC Bank’, accessed 13 July 2023, https://www.blcbank.com/content/about/milestones.aspx?modid=1.1↓ Over half a century of operations, the bank opened subsidiaries in France (1956), Switzerland (1961), and Brazil […]
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