The combined net after tax profit of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries, namely Bank of Syria & Overseas, Byblos Bank Syria, Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi, Sharq Bank, Syria Gulf Bank and Fransabank Syria fell by SYP 72.82 billion year-on-year to just below SYP 2.35 billion ($1.88 million) YTD March 2021, down from around SYP 75.17 billion ($142.82 million) in the same quarter in 2020. This owes to unrealized structural FX revaluation losses amounting to SYP 338.81 billion ($0.27 million) in comparison with unrealized FX gains of SYP 74.07 billion ($140.73 million) in the same period last year as a result of the significant devaluation of the Syrian pound against the US dollar over the studied period. In figures, the combined net interest income of all six banks rose by 44.25% y-o-y to SYP 10.33 billion ($8.26 million) and was a accompanied by more than five-folds increase in net commission & fee income to SYP 14.83 billion ($11.87 million). On the other hand, operating expenses saw a sharp 145.91% annual increase to SYP 25.17 billion ($20.14 million). Syria Gulf Bank recorded the highest profit figure ($2.11 million), followed by Fransabank Syria ($0.52 million), Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi ($0.45 million), Bank of Syria & Overseas (loss of $0.01 million), Sharq Bank (loss of $0.49 million), and Byblos Bank Syria (loss of $0.71 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 5.14% during the first quarter of 2021 to SYP 1,878.42 billion ($1.50 billion). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the six banks stood at 35.16%, that of Syria Gulf Bank being 17.99%, Bank of Syria & Overseas amassing a share of 15.00%, Fransabank Syria controlling a stake of 14.70%, the share of Byblos Bank Syria reaching 9.58% and the share of Sharq Bank settling at 7.57%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks soared by 38.19% during the first three months of 2021 to SYP 387.94 billion ($310.35 million), while their combined customer deposits rose by 5.25% to SYP 1,231.48 billion ($985.18 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all six banks inched up by 0.88% YTD March 2021 to SYP 355.69 billion ($284.55 million).