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 fell markedly by around SYP 678.189 billion (60.58%) on an annual basis to SYP 441.37 billion ($32.29 million) in the first half of 2024, down from around SYP 1,119.56 billion ($136.53 million) in the same period in 2023. This owes to the 65.17% decrease in structural FX revaluation gains to a loss of SYP 388.15 billion ($28.40 million) which outweighed the 122.44% increase in net interest income to SYP 98.66 billion ($7.22 million) and the 122.28% rise in net fee & commission income to SYP 212.62 billion ($15.56 million) which resulted in a 43.67% drop in operating income to just below SYP 721.45 billion ($52.81 million). Operating expenses, on the other hand, saw a sharp 99.06% annual increase in H1-2024 to SYP 323.26 billion ($23.65 million). It is worth noting that profitability, when measured in US Dollar, shows a 76.35% annual decrease YTD June 2024. Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi recorded the highest profit figure ($15.11 million), followed by Bank of Syria & Overseas ($5.51 million), Byblos Bank Syria ($4.53 million), Fransabank Syria ($4.06 million), and Sharq Bank ($3.09 million).

On the balance sheet front, the combined assets of Lebanese banks’ Syrian subsidiaries widened by 17.74% in the first half of 2024 to SYP 14,506.85 billion ($1,061.37 million). The share of Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi of the combined assets of the five aforementioned banks stood at 53.94%, that of Bank of Syria & Overseas reached 17.72%, Fransabank Syria’s share leveled at 11.77%, the share of Byblos Bank Syria reached 9.54%, and the share of Sharq Bank stood at 7.03%. The combined net loans portfolio of the aforementioned banks rose by 67.85% in the first half of 2024 to SYP 1,326.61 billion ($97.06 million), with their combined customer deposits increasing by 14.07% to SYP 7,872.37 billion ($575.97 million). On the capitalization front, the combined equity of all five banks widened by 18.50% to SYP 4,615.46 billion ($337.68 million) YTD June 2024.