Banking 2014: Looming taxes

It could have been a very boring report. In the big picture of Lebanese banking, the classic performance parameters are rather well behaved this year. Assets of commercial banks stood …

Lebanese banks have enjoyed a long history of Iraqi businessmen coming to the country and banking here, or so boasts Makram Sader, secretary general of the Association of Banks in …

People may like to think otherwise, but the majority of catastrophes throw very visible shadows ahead. For example, most floods can be foretold by analyzing the human impact on terrain …

Each year the observers and analysts of Lebanon’s banking performance eagerly await the publication of Bilanbanques, a wholly numbers-driven compendium of data and performance ratios on the banking sector produced …

Creditbank Chair Tarek Khalife explains his views on banking and the roots of his strategy to prioritize lending to the private sector. Last week, Executive published a longer piece about Creditbank.   …

The countdown is on, with just a month to go before the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) goes live on July 1. Aimed at curbing tax evasion …

International banks have been leaving the Lebanese market or selling off some of their operations. Last year, HSBC reported that they were to discontinue any sale of their investment and …

Freddie Baz is a shareholder and board member of Istanbul-based Odeabank. He is also the chief financial officer of Audi Group, Odea’s parent. Most importantly, he is the personification of …

It seems like a no brainer at first: Use your bank card for your purchases and you will eventually receive a free iPhone, a trip to Europe or, perhaps best …

Turkey’s newest bank is all but 19 months old and has a single parent, Lebanon’s Audi Group. It goes by the name of Odeabank. Odea is apparently not a Turkish …