Promising performances

The rather tired theory that the banking sector is one of the sectors most likely to spur an economic upturn was given a boost by the promising performance of leading Lebanese banks over the past six months. The major turning point for both the Lebanese economy in general and the banking sector in particular was the Paris II donor conference held in November 2002. While no direct material benefits seem to have trickled through to the economy, the overall confidence in the domestic currency, coupled with the image of stability portrayed by the government, have seen a redirection of funds towards Lebanon’s leading banks. Among those banks, Banque Audi stood out with a considerable 20% increase in total deposits during the first six months of 2003, reaching $5.1 billion, and overtaking its rival Byblos Bank, which added almost 8% in deposits at $4.3 billion. BLOM Bank maintained its position as