Byblos Bank sees flat profits

Total assets and deposits in first half of the
year increase but at slower rate than in 2011

Byblos Bank has registered $80 million in net profits in the first half of 2012, almost unchanged from last year which saw $84 million in net profits, according to the bank’s H1 2012 results.

The bank’s conservative strategy has achieved a capital adequacy ratio of 13.3 percent, which exceeds the 12 percent regulatory requirement set by Basel III, which will only be implemented locally as of December 2015.

The bank’s unaudited consolidated figures for the first half of the year saw total assets at end June at $16.6 billion, compared to $16.5 billion at end June 2011. Customer deposits grew by 3.5 percent year-on-year to $13.3 billion, while net loans increased by 2.1 percent to $4.1 billion.

Last year saw slightly better performance as customer deposits increased by 5.9 percent in the first half of 2011 from the same period in 2010, while net customer loans increased by 4.1 percent. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio at end June 2011 stood at 14.75 percent.

The bank’s results showed gross non-performing loans (NPL) represented 3.94 percent of gross loans, which were covered by up to 70.8 percent by specific provisions and reserved interest. The coverage ratio reached 111.7 percent when accounting for collective provisions as well.

Byblos Bank kept a strong asset quality, thereby allocating provisions for credit losses for an amount of $23.1 million in the first half of the year, out of which $8.4 million are collective provisions.

The bank recorded one of the highest liquidity levels in the sector, according to the bank’s results. Its primary liquidity placed with the Central Bank and banks amounted to $9.1 billion, which represents 68.7 percent of total deposits as at end June 2012.

The Bank matched long-term foreign currency assets with long-term funding in foreign currency, as evidenced by last year’s issuance of USD 300 million in 10-year bonds carrying a coupon of seven percent.


Reported by Hani Bathiche