Lebanese banks intend to expand their services in Iraq and open more branches across the country, the president of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Francois Bassil, said Friday. Speaking to the participants at a Lebanese-Iraqi banking conference that began Friday at the Movenpick in Beirut, Bassil said the Lebanese banks operating in Iraq were relatively small compared with the size of the state-owned Iraqi banks.

 

“The size of the Lebanese banks in Iraq maybe too small compared to the huge Iraqi market. Iraq’s seven state-owned banks have 80 percent of assets and 90 percent of total deposits in the country. However, we are going to the Iraqi market to serve new clients,” Bassil said. There are seven Lebanese banks operating in Iraq, and authorities in Baghdad are expected to issue three more licenses soon. Lebanese banks are expanding their operations in the region to diversify their income. [Link]