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By Ashraf Abdul Wahab and Nigel Ash
Tripoli, 24 August 2013:
The Libyan . . .[restrict]Foreign Bank, the largest bank in Libya with assets of $16 billion, today began a a three-day seminar to see how it can better integrate its banking subsidiaries in 22 countries throughout Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The general managers from all these operations heard LFB chairman Ben Issa Ahmed explain that, along with Libya itself, the bank had undergone many changes and needed to reconsider it strategy. He said that he looked forward to hearing how each management team proposed to address the challenges, in what he described as a unique meeting for the bank.
Ahmed said that he was particularly interested to learn how there could be an improved understanding between Libyan and foreign staff.
Among the general managers who made their presentations today was Andrew Martin, the new chief executive of the London-based British Arab Commercial Bank, which since 2010 has been 83 percent owned by LFB. Martin suggested that there were synergies that could be achieved from the procurement, for instance of software, through to payments and the centralisation of foreign currency dealing, which he suggested BACB itself could do at competitive rates, while keeping the fee income within the LFB group.
The seminar heard of the fresh openings in trade finance, treasury, wholesale banking and lending, as well as the new opportunities in investment banking and Sharia-compliant products.
More presentations from general managers are scheduled for tomorrow before the executive break out into smaller strategic discussions.
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