An editorial investigation into how the vested financial interests of Lebanese bankers and politicians are one and the same.
Cross Contamination: The Banking Interests Plaguing Public Office in Lebanon
Lebanon’s banks played a central role in driving the country into the financial catastrophe it has endured since 2019, and yet to date they have avoided legal sanction, regulatory reform, and efforts to have them bear their fair share of the financial burden. Where, one might ask, are the...
Bank Audi
Founded: 1962 Total Assets*: US$27.0 billion Customer Deposits*: US$20.2 billion Ranking 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] Bank...
Blom Bank
Founded: 1958 Total Assets*: US$26.48 billion Customer Deposits**: US$21.06 billion Ranking by Assets*: 2 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022 converted at 1507.5 LBP/USD) (**as of Dec 31, 2020, Bilanbanques 2021) Background Banque du Liban et d’Outre-Mer (BLOM) was incorporated in 1958, with...
SGBL
Founded: 1953 Total Assets*: US$25.95 billion Customer Deposits*: US$18.71 billion Ranking by Assets*: 3 (*as of Dec 31, 2018, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) History Société Générale de Banque du Liban (SGBL) was founded in 1953 by Antoun Mikhail Sehnaoui, the great-uncle of the...
Byblos Bank
Founded: 1950 Total Assets*: US$17.24 billion Customer Deposits*: US$13.2 billion Ranking by Assets*: 4 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) History Businessman Semaan Bassil Sr. and his brother Youssef Melkan Bassil established Société Commerciale et Agricole Byblos...
Bankmed
Founded: 1944 Total Assets*: US$15.53 billion Customer Deposits*: US$11.64 billion Ranking by Assets*: 5 (*as of Dec 31, 2019, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background BankMed SAL (formerly known as Banque de la Méditerranée SAL) was founded in 1944 in Beirut.[1] Today, the bank is...
Fransabank
Founded: 1921 Total Assets*: US$15.06 billion Customer Deposits*: US$12.34 billion Ranking by Assets*: 6 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background First established as a Lebanese branch of Crédit Foncier D’Algérie et de Tunisie (CFAT) in 1921, Fransabank is the...
Bank of Beirut
Founded: 1963 Total Assets*: US$12.09 billion Customer Deposits*: US$9.62 billion Ranking by Assets*: 7 (*as of Dec 31, 2021, ABL Almanac 2022, converted at LL1507.5/US$) Background Realty Business Bank SAL opened in 1963 and was renamed Bank of Beirut in 1970. In 1992, with just five branches...