Bank of Beirut is a commercial bank in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded in 1963 as Realty Business Bank S.A.L. and ten years later, in 1973, changed its name to the current name. In 1993, a group of bankers and businessmen headed by Salim Sfeir, the current Chairman and CEO, acquired the five branches bank, which ranked 35 out of the 71 banks operating that year, and in 1997, Bank of Beirut was listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange.
Acquisition history
The 1990s was a significant decade for the bank when it started acquiring other banks to boost its own presence; in 1994, Banque Libano-Bresilienne SAL was acquired, followed by Mebco Bank SAL in 1998, Transorient Bank SAL in 1999 and Beirut Riyadh Bank SAL in 2002. In 2008, the 11-branch network, Al-Madina Bank SAL was acquired and in 2011, Bank of Beirut acquired Laiki Bank Ltd which was later renamed to Bank of Sydney. In 2015, Banque Libano-Francaise acquired the majority of Bank of Beirut's shares after the losses they announced by the end of their fiscal year in 2014.
Expansion
In 1997, a strategic alliance was formed with Emirates Bank NBD, later in 2001 Bank of Beirut opened a representative office in Dubai, UAE to serve expatriates in the GCC. In 2002, a branch was opened in Limassol, Cyprus regulated by the Central Bank of Cyprus, followed by the opening of a representative office in Lagos, Nigeria in 2004 and in Accra, Ghana in 2014. 4 branches opened in Oman, Muscat in 2006, Sohar in 2008, Ghobra in 2012, and the Wave in 2014. In 2002, Bank of Beirut Ltd a fully owned subsidiary was established, which opened a branch in Frankfurt, Germany in 2009 and following the acquisition of Bank of Sydney in 2011, branches opened in Adelaide, Melbourne in addition to Sydney.
Offices and branches
Bank of Beirut currently operates 90 branches across 4 continents that include over 70 branches in Lebanon, 16 branches across Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide in Australia, 4 branches in Oman, United Kingdom, Cyprus, and representative offices in UAE, Qatar, Nigeria and Ghana.
BoB Finance is a financial institution owned by Bank of Beirut and licensed by the Central Bank of Lebanon. In 2009, BoB Finance was appointed as Western Union's agent to provide services such as domestic and international transfers. With over 800 sub-agents across the country, BoB Finance provides key services such as: Remittance, Bill Payments, Mobile Top-up, payment facility for Fly Dubai and Corporate Cash Collection.
