Nov 06 2010 |
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Lebanese banks' assets jump by 10 percent in first nine months
06 November 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanese banks continued to see impressive growth in assets and deposits in the first nine months of the year, despite the gloomy political outlook and growing debate over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
According to recent Central Bank statistics, the total consolidated balance sheets (assets) jumped by 10 percent to reach $126.7 billion compared to 2009. Total bank deposits up to September 2010 also rose by 8.4 percent to reach $103.685 billion. Bank deposits in the month of September alone increased by $1.2 billion and this is considered an impressive result by all standards.
Bank profits in the first nine months of 2010 increased by 46.39 percent to $1.224 billion compared to $836 million in the same period of 2009. Lebanon’s 10 leading banks, according to experts, control over 70 percent of the market share and net most of the profits in this sector.
This move has induced commercial banks to look for other means to generate profits either through offering more loans to the private sector or expanding non-commission and fees operations.
Bankers, in general, do not seem to be too worried by the growingly tense atmosphere in Lebanon, noting Lebanese banks had weathered worse cases like the 2006 summer war with Israel.
Bank loans to the private sector in the first nine months of 2010 reached $33.809 billion, an increase of 19.2 percent compared to 2009.
Banks are now offering very low interest rates on personal, housing and car loans, an indication that the banking sector is trying to win a bigger share in the small market.
As for private equity, total capital of all banks reached $9.095 billion, an rise of 19.2 percent compared to the same period of 2009.
The governor of the Central Bank has urged local banks to increase their capitals to allow them to acquire more banks in the Middle East. Lebanese banks already operate in Syria, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Algeria, UAE and Qatar and are looking for new markets in Asia and Africa. – The Daily Star
© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
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