A depositor using an ATM in Beirut. (Credit: Sandrine Frem/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Seven years into Lebanon’s economic crisis, depositors’ savings remain trapped and a “zombie” banking sector still awaits restructuring. Yet, amid the paralysis, a handful of banks have been reporting profits, even as their accumulated losses remain unresolved.A compilation of publicly available annual reports collected by L’Orient-Le Jour identified seven banks that reported a profit in at least one of 2024 or 2025: Bank Audi, Fransabank, BLC Bank, Bank of Beirut, Byblos Bank, BLOM Bank and Banque Libano-Française (BLF). Read more Bank Audi says Lebanese economy weathered summer better than expected Shareholders cannot, however, receive those earnings as dividends, or payments drawn from a company’s profits. Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban (BDL), first barred banks from distributing dividends in November 2019 and...
BEIRUT — Seven years into Lebanon’s economic crisis, depositors’ savings remain trapped and a “zombie” banking sector still awaits restructuring. Yet, amid the paralysis, a handful of banks have been reporting profits, even as their accumulated losses remain unresolved.A compilation of publicly available annual reports collected by L’Orient-Le Jour identified seven banks that reported a profit in at least one of 2024 or 2025: Bank Audi, Fransabank, BLC Bank, Bank of Beirut, Byblos Bank, BLOM Bank and Banque Libano-Française (BLF). Read more Bank Audi says Lebanese economy weathered summer better than expected Shareholders cannot, however, receive those earnings as dividends, or payments drawn from a company’s profits. Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban (BDL), first barred banks from distributing dividends in...
2 p.m. recap: Pit discovered north of Beirut, Hezbollah warns of ‘imminent explosion’ in the streets, settlers arrested in West Bank