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 256.12 billion in 2022 to just below SYP 174.22 billion ($27.62 million), down from around SYP 430.34 billion ($171.45 million) in the year 2021. This owes to the 58.02% decrease in structural FX revaluation gains to SYP 176.32 billion ($27.96 million) outweighing the 48.88% increase in net interest income to SYP 108.88 billion ($17.26 million) and the 39.94% rise in net fee & commission income to SYP 102.10 billion ($16.19 million) which altogether dragged operating income down by 32.47% to just below SYP 411 billion ($65.16 million). On the other hand, operating expenses saw a sharp 33.84% annual increase in 2022 to SYP 227.91 billion ($36.14 million). It is worth noting that profitability, when measured in US Dollar, show an 83.89% annual contraction during the year 2022 on the back of the significant devaluation of the Syrian Pound against the US Dollar from SYP 2,510 per USD in December 2021 to SYP 6,307 per USD as at end of December 2022. Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi recorded the highest profit figure ($9.96 million), followed by Syria Gulf Bank ($5.42 million), Fransabank Syria ($4.00 million), Byblos Bank Syria ($4.00 million), Sharq Bank ($2.30 million), and Bank of Syria & Overseas ($1.94 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 21.93% in the year 2022 to SYP 4,519.59 billion ($716.60 million). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the six banks stood at 41.95%, that of Syria Gulf Bank reached 22.41%, Bank of Syria & Overseas’ share leveled at 12.44%, the share of Fransabank Syria reached 10.54%, that of Byblos Bank Syria neared 7.81% and the share of Sharq Bank stood at 4.85%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks rose by 35.35% in 2022 to SYP 981.79 billion ($155.67 million), while their combined customer deposits rose by 26.26% to SYP 2,841.36 billion ($450.51 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all six banks widened by 22.01% in 2022 to SYP 984.71 billion ($156.13 million).