Unlike the alpha banks, Lebanon’s smaller banks in the beta (ranked 11th to 20th) and gamma categories (ranked 21st to 30th) are not wholly concerned about growth. Of course, it is an aspiration for them, but not central to their operational strategy. Instead, the more modest banks of Lebanon focus on customizing their bouquet of financial products to target certain client niches. Jihad Bassil, general manager of Middle East and Africa Bank (MEAB) — ranked 23rd in total assets — is revamping the bank’s strategy to focus on a particular niche market. “This niche is what we call small and medium clients,” he said, with deposits between $50,000 to $500,000. “We wouldn’t mind having high level or prime clients, but this will not be our main target. We believe [the small and medium] niche is more stable [and] more reliable… than the big names, because the [latter] are subject to
