Lebanon’s capital markets

ENAR

This article is part of an Executive special report on wealth management and private banking. Read more stories as they’re published here, or pick up September’s issue at newsstands in Lebanon. With the lack of active capital markets, banks have as of yet provided the largest source of outside financing to private companies, resulting largely in a lending monoculture. Yet, their conservative lending policies dictate a disproportionate amount of collateral on loans, leaving much of the market financially underserved. In most economies, capital market and traditional banking activities complement each other when financing companies. There is little doubt that the proper and rigorous development of capital markets would equally benefit the Lebanese economy. Historically weak capital markets Despite the fact that Lebanese companies across all sectors are highly underfinanced, the development of Lebanese capital markets throughout the years has not been treated with the utmost priority. With various draft laws