History of the Bank
More than 50 years of banking services

BLC Bank s.a.l. was incorporated on the 12th of May, 1950 in Beirut, as one of the pioneer banking institutions in Lebanon. Currently the Bank operates a network of 34 branches. BLC Bank (France) s.a., a wholly owned subsidiary of BLC Bank s.a.l. and an independent French banking corporation, was established in 1956.

In June 2002, Banque du Liban (the Central Bank of Lebanon) acquired 95% of BLC Bank’s shareholding, giving its full support and commitment to the success of the Bank. A seasoned senior management team was entrusted with the reorganization and restructuring of the Bank. The team has been successful in achieving total turnaround results, focusing on the development of retail and commercial business and registering the highest levels of profitability since the Bank's establishment over half a century ago.

To consolidate the Bank's investment banking activities, BLC Finance s.a.l. was established in 1998 introducing innovative financial products and services. Main activities include fund management, proprietary trading, floor brokerage and margin lending.

To maintain an edge in the ever-growing banking industry, BLC Bank decided in 2004 to enter the promising insurance market. To manage the portfolio of insurance activities, BLC Bank created a fully-owned subsidiary, BLC Services s.a.l.

In December 2005, the Qatar Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment acquired the Central Bank of Lebanon's shares in BLC Bank s.a.l. This was followed by a capital increase of $100 million in early 2006 to give the bank additional impetus to grow its business activities. Subsequently, in May 2006 the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment transferred its ownership in BLC Bank s.a.l. to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a governmental agency responsible for the ownership and management of the State of Qatar's assets both nationally and internationally. 

In August 2007, Fransabank s.a.l. acquired from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), 97.52% of the capital of BLC Bank s.a.l. after the latter had finalized the successful sell off of its French subsidiary, BLC Bank s.a. (France) to QIA. As a result of this, BLC Bank s.a.l. Lebanon ceased to have any shareholding in BLC Bank s.a. (France).

In April 2008, Mr. Maurice Sehnaoui was appointed Chairman of the Board and General Manager after becoming one of the main shareholders.

The Bank envisions to develop in an ambitious way by significantly increasing both its size and market share through building the balance sheet, the client base, the products' mix and the branch network all the while adopting solid banking principles, leveraging on Fransabank Group's strengths as the fourth largest banking institution in the country, striving to maintain a high level of excellence while creating value added for the Bank's clients.