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| Lebanese Byblos Bank opens branch in Baghdad |
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Posted on 1 Mar 2010 |
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The Byblos Bank Group opened a branch in Baghdad, becoming the first Lebanese bank with a direct presence in the Iraqi capital.
Byblos Bank started operations in Iraq in May 2007 through a branch in Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan, making it the first Lebanese bank to establish a direct presence in the Iraqi market at the time. The Baghdad branch, like the Irbil branch, is part of Byblos Bank sal, and will cover commercial and correspondent banking services including payments, letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and documentary collections, among other services. The expansion in Iraq falls within the Group’s strategy of asset diversification and expansion in emerging markets and developing economies. The Bank’s objective is to diversify its assets and sources of income by expanding in selective markets with strong economic growth and low levels of bank penetration. It aims to have a minimum of 40% of its assets and income from international activities in the coming few years. Byblos Bank is one of four foreign banks with direct branches in Iraq, the others being the Arab Banking Corporation, the Turkish Agricultural Bank and Bank Melli Iran. Iraq’s banking sector has 22 privately owned commercial banks, 7 Islamic banks and 7 state-owned banks.
Byblos Bank sal announced consolidated net profits of $146.1m in 2009, constituting an increase of 20% from $122m in 2008. Total assets reached $13.58bn at the end of 2009, constituting a rise of 21% from the end of 2008, while net loans & advances to customers increased by 14.6% to $3.19bn at end- 2009. Customers’ deposits totaled $10.2bn, up 23% from end-2008. The Byblos Bank Group has a direct presence in Syria, Sudan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Armenia, as well as in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus.
Lebanon This Week – Byblos Bank
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