Central Bank to banks: Know your real client. Central Bank’s decision is part of anti-money laundering compliance

The Central Bank (BDL) has issued a circular instructing banks and financial entities to identify the ultimate owners or controllers, technically called 'beneficial owners', of their institutional and individual clients.

They must also open a specific register that lists the names of the ultimate beneficial owners for each of their customers.

The circular comes in compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF is an international inter-governme...

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Banks OK’d to trade in financial instruments. CMA to monitor accounts

The Central Bank (BDL) has reauthorized commercial banks and financial institutions to directly carry out transactions involving financial instruments on behalf of their clients, according to two new BDL circulars.

The new circulars overturn a November 2016 BDL decision that prohibited such transactions unless they were done through specialized banks or brokerage firms. That decision was frozen following an objection by the Association of Banks, said Amine Awad, General Manager of BLOM Ba...

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BLC to sell Cypriot bank to Maurice Sehnaoui. Sehnaoui to exit stake in BLC

A group of investors led by Maurice Sehnaoui is in talks with BLC Bank to buy its stake in the Cyprus-based USB Bank. Sehnaoui will in turn exit his stake in BLC Bank in favor to the Kassar family, which owns the majority of it.

BLC Bank owns 99.25 percent of USB Bank, whose shareholders' equity stood at around $85.5 million at the end of 2016. Sehanoui holds a 23 percent stake in BLC Bank, whose equity totaled $559.8 million at the end of 2017. He owns 18.4 percent through Holding M. Seh...

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Fidus to morph into a specialized or private bank. Equity increased to $25 million

Fidus SAL, a subsidiary of Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank (BDL) to convert into a specialized bank, according to Jean Hanna, the company's Deputy General Manager.

For this purpose, Fidus increased its capital from $5 million to $20 million, and boosted shareholders' equity from $7.5 million to $25 million.

The new bank, tentatively named Fidus Invest or SGBL Private Bank, is expected t...

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Berytech Fund invests in Capital Banking Solutions. Company to expand to the Gulf

Berytech Fund II has acquired a stake in software developer Capital Banking Solutions (CBS) for $5 million.

Both parties declined to disclose the new shareholding distribution. Sources close to the deal estimated Berytech's share to be under 40 percent.

Samer Hanna, Chairman of CBS, said that the proceeds will be used for geographical expansion as well as the creation of new products.

"We will beef up our team in order to grow faster," he said. The company plans to enter t...

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Finance Bank under investigation. Problems to be solved within months

The Higher Banking Commission, which is the judicial arm of the Central Bank (BDL), has instructed the newly appointed general manager of Finance Bank to investigate suspected wrongdoing at the bank and to prepare a recovery plan.

The Commission appointed Nadim Rahal in April as General Manager of Finance Bank after it discharged the bank's board of directors and its previous Chairman Hassan Farran. The move came after Iraqi authorities took legal action against Farran on bribery allegati...

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