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 rose by around SYP 201.31 billion in 2021 to just below SYP 430.34 billion ($171.45 million), up from around SYP 229.02 billion ($183.22 million) in 2020. This owes to the 80.70% increase in unrealized structural FX revaluation gains to SYP 420.07 billion ($167.36 million), coupled with a 125.86% increase in net commission & fee income to SYP 71.66 billion ($28.55 million) and a 96.78% drop in net interest income to SYP 73.13 billion ($29.14 million) which altogether lifted operating income by 99.26% to SYP 608.59 billion ($242.47 million). It is worth noting that the structural FX gains owe to the significant devaluation of the Syrian Pound against the US dollar over the studied period which depreciated from SYP 1,250 per USD in 2020 to SYP 2,510 per USD in 2021. On the other hand, operating expenses saw a sharp 126.06% annual increase in 2021 to SYP 169.30 billion ($67.45 million). It is worth noting that profitability, when measured in US Dollar, show a 6.43% annual contraction in 2021 on the back of the devaluation of the Syrian Pound. Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi recorded the highest profit figure ($55.67 million), followed by Byblos Bank Syria ($30.55 million), Syria Gulf Bank ($27.03 million), Bank of Syria & Overseas ($22.26 million), Fransabank Syria ($20.90 million), and Sharq Bank ($15.04 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 107.48% in 2021 to SYP 3,706.68 billion ($1.48 billion). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the six banks stood at 40.50%, that of Syria Gulf Bank reached 20.05%, Bank of Syria & Overseas’ share leveled at 12.95%, the share of Fransabank Syria reached 12.22%, that of Byblos Bank Syria neared 8.29% and the share of Sharq Bank approached 6.00%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks soared by 158.40% in 2021 to SYP 725.39 billion ($289.00 million), while their combined customer deposits rose by 92.33% to SYP 2,250.34 billion ($896.55 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all six banks more than doubled in 2021 to SYP 807.09 billion ($321.55 million).