A bank that grows from strength to strength

In a recently released report FFA Private Bank has initiated coverage on BLOM Bank, with a buy recommendation and a fair value estimate of $91.6 per share, implying a price to book ratio (P/B) 2009 of 1.41 and a price to earning ratio (P/E) 2009 of 7.40. The report pinpoints that BLOM Bank has pursued an organic growth strategy, abstaining from the wave of consolidations witnessed by the Lebanese banking sector from the mid-1990s onwards. Thus BLOM has grown organically and gradually to become a major player in the Lebanese banking sector, where it operated a network of 56 branches nationally in 2008. Domestically, the bank is the largest commercial bank in terms of net profits; as for all other major ranking criteria, it is worth noting that BLOM occupies the second position in terms of loans, deposits, assets and shareholders’ equity. Furthermore, the report stressed the bank’s business diversification.