Bank of Beirut Chairman General Manager, Salim Sfeir, participated in the opening of the London Stock Exchange on the occasion of Lebanon Capital Markets Day. Held by the London Stock Exchange in cooperation with Lebanon’s Central Bank and Bank of New York Mellon, the event tackled recent developments in the Lebanese economy in the presence of heads of monetary institutions and featured a presentation by Sfeir about Bank of Beirut’s milestones, financial performance, expansion strategy and future outlook. 

Sfeir highlighted the achievements of Bank of Beirut, mentioning that the Bank is currently ranked number one in trade finance, capitalization and assets quality. He confirmed that Bank of Beirut is achieving strong performance, in spite of the unfavorable prevailing environment. According to Sfeir, the Bank also holds leading positions in terms of profits, liquidity, retail banking, bancassurance and housing, in addition to being a pioneer in Asset Management, with its funds achieving best returns over several years.

In less than 20 years, Sfeir said, Bank of Beirut has increased its market share and evolved into a 10.2 billion dollar assets bank, a growth of 340 times. This exceptional growth has been achieved through several acquisitions, international expansion and product development. In addition, Sfeir highlighted that the Bank’s Loans to Customers have grown to USD 3.4 billion and Customer Deposits to USD 8 billion, whereas the Shareholders’ Equity stood at USD1.1 billion.

As for Bank of Beirut Shareholders, Sfeir said that over the period 2007-2011, the Total Shareholders Return stood at 13.44%, exceeding the rates of the global, regional and Lebanese markets.

Commenting on the expansion strategy, Sfeir said that the Bank is very active internationally, with a presence in nine countries in four continents. Bank of Beirut, which recently expanded into the Continent Down Under through a 16-branch subsidiary, intends to further enhance its local and international network and establish presence in low-risk regions and countries with extensive Lebanese Diaspora presence, he said.

Concluding his presentation, Bank of Beirut Chairman paid particular tribute to His Excellency Mr. Riad Salameh, who, during his 20 years tenure as Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon has provided the country with monetary and financial stability thanks to his wise guidance. Sfeir also extended his thanks to the London Stock Exchange and to the Bank of New York Mellon for their interest in the Lebanese banking Industry.