The Dubai International Financial Center. Bankmed became the first banking institution in the MENA region to perform in the DIFC under a Group 1 license 
With a strong capability weather shocks and also overcome challenges, any Lebanese banking sector has proved to be one of the main pillars of monetary stability in the country. In the middle of a continued domestic politics stalemate and regional uncertainty, which still pose a serious challenge towards the Lebanese economy, the business banking sector managed to maintain growth in major key indicators over the time stretching between 2017 and 2017. Assets grew by means of an average of 8.One percent annually, private marketplace deposits increased by way of 5.7 p . c, loans to the private sector witnessed a slight increase of 9.9 percent and the loans-to-deposit ratio expanded to 31.4 %. The high liquidity offers Lebanese banks with high immunity to unstable circumstances and the ability to digest shocks. Relative to the length of the economy, this banking sector is growing over the years, accumulating assets in excess of 350 pct of the country’s GDP amid on-going deposits inflows.
As these types of, the Lebanese banking field has earned the trust of the world-wide financial community granted its experience in probability and crisis administration. The challenges faced by way of Lebanese banks at this risky stage lie while in the levels of growth plus profits. The size of finance institutions relative to GDP means them to fund both public and the personalized sector, with mortgages to the private market representing more than 90 percent of GDP.
Despite the fragile political and monetary situations that have went on to loom over Lebanon and the surrounding region within the last five years, profitability includes increased
However, the banking market is not insulated via current events, and it’s also natural that it is plagued by the economy. For that reason, the central querry is still: how will the sector sustain its growth in the face of the growing challenges that always weigh down on the?Lebanese economy?
To address this challenge, during the last two decades, Lebanese banks include expanded the setting of their operations, creating a widespread external system of representative clinics, branches, subsidiaries and sibling companies. This business expansion has been triggered by a few pragmatic reasons, like small economy as well as the small size of the population, in addition to other factors for example political instability along with security issues.
Today, in excess of 15 banks, which usually constitute over 85 % of the Lebanese banking field, have an established presence in more than 25 countries including Game hen, Egypt, the West coast of florida states, the US and Australia, as well as other nations in Africa and Europe.
As one of Lebanon’s nearly all dynamic banks, Bankmed has become a pioneer in this regard. Along with 70 years of good banking experience, it offers acquired a distinctive nicely balanced risk approach. This kind of know-how has endowed the item with the competence to diversify its water ways of profit as well as its concentration risk. Thus, the bank has expanded its scope connected with operations and widened its footprint within new markets within the area. The latest opening with the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) serves as a clear attestation of the bank’s continuous hard work to maintain its top position and seem reputation. It also mirrors its forward look at to widen it has the client base and correct its customers’ economic needs wherever they are.
Bankmed has successfully situated itself at the forefront of Lebanese banking companies, displaying a well known ability in preserving growth year after year as well as exhibiting an unmitigated power in exploring brand-new opportunities locally together with regionally.
Greater horizons
It is because for this broadened scope associated with operations that Bankmed has been successfully moving on a good path of steady expansion. The sustained expansion into regional markets and the diversity of business lines have absolutely impacted the lending institution’s performance. Hence, rapidly delicate political in addition to economic situations which may have continued to loom in excess of Lebanon and the surrounding location over the past five years, sales and profits has increased.
Bankmed in 2017 assets
$15.4bn
Assets
$4.7bn
Loans
$12.1bn
Deposits
39.1%
Loans-to-deposits ratio
$2.5bn
Trade financial volume
The bank has been showcasing consistent growth in it’s balance sheet as well as bottom line objectives. Throughout 2017, the bank’s net profit increased to capture $133.5m (see Fig. 1) C the top in its history C while its total combined assets increased by way of 12 percent annually to get to $15.4bn by the end of the same twelve months. The increase in the lending institution’s investment portfolio, along with its growth in loan assortment, have been the main drivers behind this improvement. Loans grew through six percent to reach $4.7bn and also customer deposits elevated by 10 percent to reach $12.1bn. Loans-to-deposits stood at 40.1 percent and the provisions coverage ratio exceeded 150 percent. In addition, the bank’s property ratio stood from 35.45 %, and its capital adequacy relative amount reached 14.3 %, exceeding, yet again, this regulatory requirement of 14.5 percent, which is placed by the Central Financial institution of Lebanon. The high assets and strong capitalisation are some of the essentials that the bank’s administration continually focuses on.
In supplement, Bankmed achieved several goals across its numerous business lines within 2017. The bank still has one of the largest commercially made lending portfolios within the Lebanese market, covering top-tier business clients across plethora industries. The achievements realised in corporation banking has eventually lasted into other areas while Bankmed has adopted various initiatives, which empowered it to enhance other essential business wrinkles. Realising the great potentials that lie in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) field, the bank actively worked on capturing a large segment of the market within a aim to leverage economical opportunities within the segment. As a result, the bank’s SME portfolio has grown by more than 20 percent per annum over the past five years, although its headcount was higher accordingly to support this specific expansion.
Rewarding results
In parallel, Bankmed realised growth in the areas. Its retail personal loan portfolio witnessed a growth of 20.6 % year-on-year. This upsurge was driven by boost loans to retail customers (including mortgages) in Lebanon and Roast (through Turkland Bank). What’s more, despite the critical state conditions, Bankmed grew a trade finance amounts to reach more than $2.5bn by the end of 2017.
In terms of microfinance, Bankmed continued to visualize leadership in this regard. A bank’s fully held subsidiary, Emkan Finance, provides over $95m worth of microloans for its 47,000 borrowers among economically active low-income earners in Lebanon.
On the investment top, Bankmed has been successfully diversifying it’s liquidity profile minimising risks while boosting profitability. The treasury’s stock trading online turnover has been slowly growing since 2017 to attain $4bn; similarly, its Currency trading turnover has also been progressively expanding over the past incomes to record $60bn. In the same manner, Bankmed’s investing banking biceps and triceps, SaudiMed Investment Company, MedSecurities Financial commitment and MedInvestment Bank, furthermore played a vital role contributing to the actual bank’s success.
SaudiMed continuing to focus on building a core competency business enterprise line of corporate pay for advisory. In 2017, SaudiMed earned your ? Best GCC Structured Finance Company award, which represents the success of the first supply securitisation operation in the Middle Asian, which it executed in collaboration with MedInvestment Bank. Following this acknowledgement, Bankmed witnessed an increase in request in terms of investment items, namely within methodized finance. As for MedSecurities, it continued to realise higher success in 2017, adding new investment solutions to a growing client base, an aspect that also earned the item global recognition. In actual fact, MedSecurities was named Finest Broker by World-wide Investor magazine.
The bank’s continued success is basically attributed to its wise risk management, formidable corporate governance, together with sound strategy. By means of focusing on locally motivated growth in parallel which has a well-planned regional expansion, particularly markets that have eco friendly growth potential, Bankmed features succeeded at putting together strong relationships together with local, regional, as well as international clients, hence solidifying its situation wherever it is present.
International expansion
Pursuing a smart expansion strategy, Bankmed has succeeded at developing presence in chosen markets with lasting growth potential. Your budget is present in Exercise through its totally owned private checking subsidiary, Bankmed (Suisse), in Saudi Arabia through its investment banking arm, SaudiMed Financial commitment, in Turkey by means of its subsidiary commercial bank, Turkland Bank (T-Bank). Bankmed in addition has established presence during Cyprus, Iraq, along with UAE through a number of twigs.
Through its well-planned expansion, Bankmed is growing to become the preferred spouse to a long list of community as well as regional corporates and also investors. The bank in addition recognised a huge prospect of business activities which really can be generated from cross-selling to its subscriber base. It continually sustains its entities in emerging and blooming economies, and through most of these endeavours it is still strategically positioned in order to prudently capitalise in opportunities that could be available in new markets.
Emerging economies for instance Saudi Arabia and Roast have presented the appropriate attributes for the bank’s regional expansion as they simply both continue to offer the right venue pertaining to growth. The Turkish overall economy, in particular, has witnessed a lot of reform and is also expected to sustain increase in the near future. Within this situation, T-Bank has been laying a selected focus on the SME sector, specially significant given that the vast majority of companies in Turkey are classified as SMEs. T-Bank has been significantly growing its SME account, extending further economical solutions to its widening client base. In 2017, their portfolio grew by simply 22 percent, adding significantly to the bank’s overall growth. Furthermore, the bank has been expanding into economically lively regions within Turkey, where most of these?corporations exist.
As for the Saudi economic climate, it has also been the frontier of positive growth dependant on its long-run prospects. In connection with this, SaudiMed, which is licensed and regulated by the Saudi Capital Marketplace Authority (CMA), offers a great deal of innovative and customised financial advisory and funding services and answers. These cover: credit debt and equity booking and advising, mergers and acquisitions advisory, corporate restructuring, as well as private positionings. The company is also trained to structure as well as market a range of regional, regional, and world-wide investment funds also to offer services spanning various asset instruction and investment strategies.
With admire to Iraq, your banker solidified its profile in the major locations in the country by inaugurating the branch in Basra with 2017, following the establishment of that branches in Baghdad together with Erbil in 2017. Despite the hard environment in Iraq, Bankmed continues to recognise a rise potential within the united states. The Iraqi economy was a student in a point one of the swiftest growing economies while in the MENA region, and this characteristic is extremely important for Bankmed’s tactical expansion. In addition, the actual bank’s expansion within Iraq came at the same time as a result of the commerce magnitude between Iraq and Turkey. Experditions in Iraq include both, retail and also commercial activities. About the retail side, Bankmed features personal and homes loans as well as common retail services. Even so, on the commercial facet, the bank endows corporate business oriented lending and deals with high-quality trade finance companies.
An enriching platform
Most recently, run by the success it’s realised in native markets and in brand with its prudent expansion strategy, Bankmed and MedSecurities well-known a presence in the DIFC, one of several world’s most notable global hubs designed for financial activity. By means of this step, Bankmed became the initial bank in the MENA area to operate in the DIFC within a Category 1 permission, the most comprehensive driver’s license granted by the Dubai Fsa. This fact underpins the stringent regulation framework in which the traditional bank operates and stresses its expertise in associated risk management. As for MedSecurities, them received a Grouping 3 license in which entitles it to deal with the evolving necessities of customers and to have a wide range of financial services within a world-class regulatory design.
Given the well-entrenched position from the banking group in the region, the opening at the DIFC operates as a new and enriching platform that enables Bankmed for you to broaden the extent of our operations. This move has been brought about by the economic increase prospects in the GCC, that offer a business opportunity for Bankmed (Dubai). Moreover, the DIFC enjoys an outstanding regulatory and legal reputation in addition to its excellent regional along with international business foundation, which has turned it into one of the international financial hubs, obtaining global and localized financial institutions. Similarly, the particular UAE’s prime position being a trade platform amongst Asia, Africa and the Middle East, serves as a key business destination for the Levantine as well as for Iraq and Turkey. Consequently, Bankmed (Dubai) is ideally placed to optimise the performance due to its synergies with the banking group’s many other entities.
Moving forward, Bankmed can be strategically placed to carefully capitalise on prospects that could be available in new markets within the region. The lending company will continue to explore growth opportunities while cementing it has the presence in current markets.
Add Comment