Top banks grow in 2011

Audi, BLOM, Byblos report increase in assets and profits throughout tremulous year

The three largest Lebanese banks, BLOM, Audi, and Byblos, saw their earnings grow in 2011despite local uncertainty and dramatic regional developments. The three banks reported a combined $94 million in net collective provisions.
The Tier 1 capital grew by 8.7 percent at BLOM, 4.3 percent at Byblos, and 0.9 percent at Audi.
Bank Audi reported the highest level of net profits at $365 million, up by 3.7 percent on an annual basis. BLOM Bank’s net profits were up by 0.3 percent to reach $332 million, while Byblos’ profits grew by 1.2 percent to reach $180 million.
All three banks have reported growth in assets; however BLOM and Byblos alone reported growth in equity. Bank Audi’s equity was down by 2.7 percent as it stood at $2.35 billion at the end of 2011. BLOM’s equity grew by almost five percent on an annual basis to reach $1.98 billion. Byblos reported around one percent growth in equity reaching $1.65 billion.
Byblos Bank’s total assets grew by 8.6 percent to reach $16.6 billion with its customer deposits increasing by 7.8 percent to reach $12.8 billion.
BLOM’s total assets grew by 3.7 percent to reach $23.2 billion with its customer deposits increasing by 3.5 percent to $20.3 billion.
Bank Audi’s assets were almost unchanged standing at $28.7 billion. Similarly, Audi’s customer deposits slightly decreased (-0.2 percent) to reach $24.8 billion at the end of the year.
BLOM Bank had a loans-to-deposits ratio of 27.5 percent. The loans-to-deposits ratio of Byblos Bank and Bank Audi were 31.3 percent and 34.7 percent respectively.
Loans offered by BLOM, Byblos, and Audi grew by eight percent, 6.3 percent, and 0.5 percent respectively.