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 around SYP 241.71 billion to just below SYP 2.11 billion ($0.84 million) YTD March 2022, down from around SYP 2.37 billion ($1.88 million) in the same period in 2021. In figures, net interest income increased by 124.73% to SYP 23.21 billion ($9.25 million) and net fee & commission income rose by 31.92% to SYP 19.57 billion ($7.80 million) which altogether lifted operating income by 70.15% to SYP 48.22 billion ($19.21 million). On the other hand, operating expenses saw a sharp 70.18% annual increase YTD-March 2022 to SYP 42.84 billion ($17.07 million). It is worth noting that profitability, when measured in US Dollar, show a 55.33% annual contraction in Q1-2022 on the back of the significant devaluation of the Syrian Pound against the US Dollar from SYP 1,250 per USD in March-2021 to SYP 2,510 per USD as at end of March-2022. Syria Gulf Bank recorded the highest profit figure ($0.42 million), followed by Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi ($1.17 million), Bank of Syria & Overseas ($0.15 million), Fransabank Syria ($0.10 million), Sharq Bank (loss of $0.12 million), and Byblos Bank Syria (loss of $0.87 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 3.91% in the first quarter of 2022 to SYP 3,851.54 billion ($1.53 billion). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the six banks stood at 39.58%, that of Syria Gulf Bank reached 22.37%, Bank of Syria & Overseas’ share leveled at 12.34%, the share of Fransabank Syria reached 11.76%, that of Byblos Bank Syria neared 8.36% and the share of Sharq Bank approached 5.60%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks rose by 6.76% YTD-March 2022 to SYP 774.40 billion ($308.53 million), while their combined customer deposits rose by 6.61% to SYP 2,399.15 billion ($955.84 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all six banks remained almost flat at SYP 808.81 billion ($322.23 million).