International banks are rushing to Libya to secure a foothold in an oil-rich economy until recently almost completed untouched by foreign lenders.
Two international groups announced acquisitions of private banks in Libya this spring, and the central bank is set to auction two new banking licences to foreign groups to operate on a standalone basis.
UK banks HSBC and Standard Chartered, Italy’s UniCredit, and Gulf lenders Emirates NBD, Mashreqbank, and Qatar Islamic Bank passed the pre-qualification stage in the auction and were provided with application packages in April. These must be returned to the central bank by June 15.
They...
