Bemo to launch Iraq subsidiary in 2012

Bank plans to open a main branch in Kurdistan’s Erbil, after first Baghdad branch

Banque Bemo announced that it has obtained an authorization from the Central Bank of Iraq to launch operations in the country. Operations are scheduled to start in 2012.

The bank said that it plans to open a branch in Baghdad, to be followed by a branch in Erbil which will be the main branch. Bemo Iraq would be specialized in corporate and private banking, similarly to its mother company in Lebanon.
Bemo Bank has subsidiaries in Syria, Cyprus, France, Luxembourg, and Dubai.

The bank reported net profits of $4.9 million in the first half of 2011, unchanged from the same period the previous year. Its total assets reached $1.36 billion, up by 12 percent from 2010.