Lebanese banking: Lots more eggs, a few more baskets

AMID THE POLITICAL storms that have swept across Lebanon in the past two years, the country’s banking sector has not only been a pillar of stability; it has enjoyed a veritable boom.

Lebanon lacked a president and a functioning government for more than 18 months; economic growth stuttered to a standstill after the 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel; and street-fighting in Beirut earlier this year almost plunged the country back into sectarian civil war.

Nevertheless, Lebanon’s renowned banks have thrived. Assets are up by double digits as the main players expand into the wider region, profits have soared across the sector and loan books are expanding briskly at a time when the credit crunch still stalks western markets.

More important, there is also evidence that some banks are beginning to look beyond their traditional role as buyers of sovereign paper and financiers of the government’s perennially enormous...