BLC Bank to increase capital

Issues new listed preferred shares

BLC Bank received the approval of the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) to list 350,000 new preferred Class C shares. The bank has set the subscription price at $100 per share, aiming to achieve a capital increase of $35 million.

Trading of the preferred shares Class C on the BSE will start on September 2. Price margins should not rise or fall by more than ten percent of the trading day value, as per the BSE rules.

The Bank already has over 51 million listed common shares. Its preferred shares are divided into 400,000 Class A shares and 550,000 Class B ones. Its non listed shares total over 100 million.

Dividends for the new Class C shares in 2013 will be calculated based on profits of 6.75 percent, starting from the date of issuance to the end of the year. Yearly dividends per share are expected to be $6.75 in 2014 and coming years.

BLC Bank is part of the Fransabank Group but its Chairman, Maurice Sehnaoui, also holds a sizable stake (around 24 percent) in the bank. BLC reported net profits of $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2013, up by some 90 percent from the same quarter last year.

During the first eight months of 2013, the number of shares traded on the BSE was down by 30 percent by comparison to the same period of last year.

Reported by Leila Rahbani