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Tighter times for Lebanese banks Lebanese banks’ first-half results have revealed tougher market conditions. Overall for the banking sector, deposits grew by just $3.2 billion in the first five months of the year, 13 percent less than the average growth of the past five years. The three largest banks in Lebanon, Bank Audi, Blom Bank and Byblos Bank, took provisions totaling some $150 million in the first half of the year as a risk precaution in case of defaults, given the uncertain economic conditions in Lebanon and neighboring Syria. Bank Audi, Lebanon’s largest bank by assets, reported net profits of $230 million for the first half of the year, growing by 28 percent over the same period last year. Removing the profits made through the June sale of its 81 percent stake in LIA Insurance Company to Saham Finances, an African insurance company, the profit growth falls to less than