Byblos Bank deposits up by ten percent

Profits down due to
additional provisions

Byblos Bank reported $157 million in net profits for 2013, dropping by six percent, annually. “This decrease is due to additional provisions at $57 million against credit losses,” according to the bank’s financial statement.

Total assets stood at $18.5 billion, up by 8.6 percent. Customer deposits rose by 10 percent to $14.7 billion and total loans increased by 9.5 percent to $4.5 billion. The statement said: “Despite uncertainty on the political level and an ongoing stagnation of the economy, Byblos Bank witnessed growth in key financial areas.”

Doubtful loans stood at one percent of net loans. Bank’s coverage ratio on non-performing loans, reached 118 percent, as of the end of December.

The bank’s management had decided to reduce the size of its Syrian exposure since the outbreak of confrontations there. Operations in Syria now represent below three percent of Byblos’s consolidated operations.

Byblos Bank paid LL200 per share to holders of common shares on its 2012 profits.