The combined net after tax profit of 5 out of 6 Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries, namely Bank of Syria & Overseas, Byblos Bank Syria, Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi, Sharq Bank, and Fransabank Syria rose by around SYP 1,609.80 billion on an annual basis to just below SYP 1,754.56 billion ($156.66 million) YTD September 2023, up from around SYP 144.76 billion ($48.01 million) in the same period in 2022. This owes to the 1023.93% increase in structural FX revaluation gains to SYP 1,750.18 billion ($156.27 million) coupled with the 100.34% increase in net interest income to SYP 76.07 billion ($6.79 million) and the 224.37% rise in net fee & commission income to SYP 170.74 billion ($15.24 million) which altogether lifted operating income up by 678.53% to just above SYP 2,038.61 billion ($182.02 million). On the other hand, operating expenses saw a sharp 145.66% annual increase YTD September 2023 to SYP 286.47 billion ($25.58 million). It is worth noting that profitability, when measured in US Dollar, show a 226.28% annual increase during the first nine months of 2023. Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi recorded the highest profit figure ($60.77 million), followed by Byblos Bank Syria ($30.74 million), Bank of Syria & Overseas ($25.19 million), Fransabank Syria ($23.85 million), and Sharq Bank ($16.11 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 150.97% in the first nine months of 2023 to SYP 8,800.79 billion ($785.78 million). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the five banks stood at 52.38%, that of Bank of Syria & Overseas reached 16.95%, Fransabank Syria’s share leveled at 13.10%, the share of Byblos Bank Syria reached 10.35%, and the share of Sharq Bank stood at 7.23%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks rose by 49.02% YTD September 2023 to SYP 754.41 billion ($67.36 million), while their combined customer deposits rose by 132.58% to SYP 5,278.38 billion ($471.28 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all five banks widened by 208.66% to SYP 2,607.54 billion ($232.82 million) YTD September 2023.