Syria’s private banks continue to shake up the country’s long stagnant banking sector. Four years after the first private banks entered the market, nine now operate, including the country’s first Islamic firms, on top of the existing five state-run institutions. A further nine have received preliminary licenses to operate in the market which, up until 2004, had been strictly the domain of the state. International credit cards, phone banking services, wider ATM access and tailored personal loans for laptops and automobiles have all been launched over the past 12 months to a public which remains heavily under-banked by regional and international standards. Business is good, with all newcomers again posting strong double digit growth figures. Indeed, Syria’s banking pastures are green enough to have seen every private bank turn a profit by the second year of their operations, a year ahead of industry standards. “There are few countries in the
