Byblos Bank () is a Lebanese bank established in 1963 and headquartered in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. It is the country's third largest bank by assets. It is one of the Alpha banks in Lebanon, along with Banque Libano-Française S.A.L., Bank Audi, BLOM Bank, and

Fransabank Fransabank (Arabic: فرنسبنك ) is one of the oldest banks in Lebanon. Today, Fransabank Group has a consolidated presence in eight countries: Lebanon, France, Algeria, Sudan, Belarus, Iraq, UAE (Abu Dhabi) and Ivory Coast. The Group also ran ...

, which are its main competitors. As at 31 July 2018, it operates 88 branches in Lebanon.

History

Byblos Bank was initially founded in 1950 as “Société Commerciale et Agricole Byblos Bassil Frères & Co.”, a Lebanese company specialized in natural silk, leather tanning, and agricultural credit activities. In 1961, the company's name was changed to “Société Bancaire Agricole Byblos Bassil Frères & Co.”, and in 1963 it was established as Byblos Bank S.A.L and registered at the newly established

Banque du Liban ''Banque du Liban'' (; English: Bank of Lebanon) is the central bank of Lebanon. It was established on August 1, 1963, and became fully operational on April 1, 1964. In 2023, Wassim Mansouri stepped up as interim governor of the Banque du Lib ...

. It welcomed its first banking clients in 1963 in Jbeil, Lebanon. The initial founders include Semaan Melkan Bassil, Youssef Melkan Bassil, Victor Fernainé and Fouad Fernainé, all hailing from powerful families based in the ancient

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n town of

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

, north of

. François Bassil, the current Chairman of Byblos Bank Group, contributed to the establishment of Byblos Bank S.A.L in 1963.

International partnerships

Byblos Bank has established partnerships with several international entities including: the

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and a member of the World Bank Group that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private ...

(IFC), which is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, the

Agence française de développement The French Development Agency (, AFD), known from 1992 to 1998 as the Caisse Française de Développement (CFD, ), is a public financial institution that implements France's development and international solidarity policies. It works to fight pov ...

(AFD), which is a public institution providing development financing and its subsidiary, the Société de Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Economique ( PROPARCO). These institutions are among the Bank's most notable shareholders. In 2009, Byblos Bank appointed

The Bank of New York Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

as a depositary bank.

Listing and areas served

Byblos Bank is listed on the

Beirut Stock Exchange The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE, Arabic: بورصة بيروت) is the principal and only stock exchange of Lebanon. Located in Beirut, it is a public institution run by a committee including a chairman, a vice-chairman and eight members appointed ...

and became in 2009 the first Lebanese issuer to be listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

. It also actively operates in 9 countries in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Banks of Lebanon 1963 establishments in Lebanon Companies based in Beirut

History

International partnerships

Listing and areas served

See also

References

External links