The return of Syrian private-sector banking

PRIVATELY OWNED BANK branches are springing up fast among the fashion boutiques, coffee bars and internet cafés that line the leafy upmarket suburbs of Damascus. It’s a stark contrast to the situation just five years ago, when the entire banking sector still lay in state hands and finding an ATM required first finding a taxi. The transformation bears witness to the early fruits of Syria’s difficult and complex shift away from a monolithic, centrally planned economy towards one driven by market forces.

Such a goal has been a cornerstone of president Bashar Assad’s gradual economic liberalization programme since 2001. It was given formal shape last year by the government’s 10th five-year plan, which outlines a comprehensive overhaul of the machinery of Syria’s economy. "It’s like we’re trying to re-engineer an entire country," says one banker....