Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) was established in 1972 in Tripoli,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

as Libyan Arab Foreign Bank; it was renamed Libyan Foreign Bank in 2005. It was Libya's first offshore banking institution licensed to operate internationally. The

Central Bank of Libya The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) is the monetary authority in Libya. It has the status of an autonomous corporate body. The law establishing the CBL stipulates that the objectives of the central bank shall be to maintain monetary stability in Liby ...

owns 100% of LFB. The head office is located in Libya's capital Tripoli. Since 2010, the bank owns 84% of British Arab Commercial Bank, and 68% of Banca UBAE (Est. 1972) in Rome.On 12 March 2011, the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy ( Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's cur ...

placed Banca UBAE under special administration following the European Council's decision to freeze Libyan banking assets. The intent was to ensure that the bank could continue to operate normally, and in conformity with international policies.

Operations

LFB provides services and operations to facilitate international trade, money flows for investment and payment, and loans to government and official institutions as well as to the private sectors. Its international services comprise insurance and confirmation of letters of credit, creation of acceptance credits, and supply of foreign exchange. In its 2007 ranking of ''Africa's Top 100 Banks'', the magazine ''African Business'' placed LAFB at number ten for Africa as a whole and fourth in the North Africa region. They went on to say that the ranking of the Libyan Foreign Bank may actually be understated, given that the most up-to-date figures available for the bank were two years older than those of many of its North African rivals. It offers corporate banking services like offering short, medium, syndicate and long-term loans. Alubaf International Bank is a subsidiary. Its Tunisia branch was named in three rounds of U.S. sanctions.

Financial overview

As of 2004, the bank had current assets worth 7,200 million Libyan dinars and non-current assets worth 4,746 million Libyan dinars. The current liabilities of the bank were 8,107 million Libyan dinars, while the non-current liabilities were 3,425 million Libyan dinars. The share capital reserve stood at 416 million Libyan dinars. The bank had many Arab banks like Arab International Bank Cairo, Arab Libyan Tunisian Bank as its subsidiary or associated companies.

Notes

Citations

External links

* Energy Information Administration (2007
''Libya: Country Analysis Brief''
*

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

(2006)
''Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: Economic Report''
Social & Economic Development Group: MENA Region *''

African Business ''African Business'' is an African business magazine published by London-based IC Publications. The current editor is David Thomas. History and profile ''African Business'' was first published in January 1982. Anver Versi was the first editor of t ...

'', October 2007 *The Banke
Libya
{{Authority control Banks of Libya Economy of Tripoli