Opeartions Started since May 16 at Byblos bank - Erbil Branch
Byblos Bank S.A.L. has recently announced the opening of its branch in Erbil, Iraq. As a branch of Byblos Bank S.A.L., Erbil branch activities will cover commercial and correspondent banking services including payments, letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and documentary collections.
The branch, located at Street 60, near the Sports Stadium in Erbil, started operations on May 16, 2007 with an approximate staff of 15 employees split between Iraqi nationals and Lebanese. The newly open Erbil Branch will benefit from the know-how and expertise of Byblos Bank S.A.L. and will use the same IT platform and all advanced and flexible banking systems in function at the Group level. All operations will be centralized at the Group's Head office in Beirut and will benefit from the state of the art technologies escorting the Bank's expansion.
An official source at the Bank highlighted that Iraq wasn't a new experience for Byblos Bank. During the 1960s and 1970s, Byblos had dealings with major Iraqi traders and industrialists and Banks. "Erbil will be our gateway to Iraq, which we consider to be a market of tremendous potential. Today, Erbil and indeed Kurdistan, is a safe area to operate in, hence the start of our operations there. We are also following our Lebanese, Arab and European clients who have established a presence in Erbil, to service them", explained the source.
Byblos Bank is the first Lebanese bank to open in Erbil and serve individuals and companies whether local or international. Byblos Bank plans to increase its branch network first in Kurdistan and subsequently in all of Iraq in the coming years. Expanding in the international market is not new to Byblos Bank as the Bank already has a strategic presence in Europe since 1976 (Byblos Bank Europe), Limassol, Cyprus since 1984 (branch), Sudan since 2003 (Byblos Bank Africa), in Syria since 2004 (Byblos Bank Syria), in Abu Dhabi since 2005 (Representative Office), and Armenia (Byblos Bank acquired a 100% stake in ITB Armenian bank in 2007).
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For more information, please call:
Laurent Hawat
AGM - Head of International Banking
Phone: 01-334950
Isabelle Naoum
Head of Corporate Communications
01-335465
© Press Release 2007
