A SOLID INCREASE
TBY talks to Abdul Razzak Achour, Chairman & General Manager of Fenicia Bank, on restructuring the bank, competing in the oversaturated Lebanese market, and attracting capital inflows from the diaspora.
BIOGRAPHY
Abdul Razzak Achour was born in 1965 and has been the Chairman & General Manager of Fenicia Bank since 1994. He is also the Chairman of several committees, including Assets and Liabilities (ALCO), Anti-Money Laundry, Credit Rating, and Credit, and is the Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Bellevue Company. In addition, Achour is a Board member of the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL). Achour has a degree in business administration and accounting from Lucien Coormans Institute and a degree in international commerce studies from ICAD-Paris.What is the background of Fenicia Bank and how did your restructuring process contribute to a better identification within the Lebanese market?
Fenicia Bank first started in 1959 as Bank of Kuwait and the Arab World. After the Civil War ended, I joined a group of Lebanese businessmen to acquire the bank in 1992. As we took over the bank, in 1992, we started the restructuring process through enhancing the management by injecting new expertise in the first and second line of management, we introduced new standard operational procedures to streamline all processes and set clearance on job descriptions and reporting channels at all levels. Equipped with a fully Lebanese workforce, in 2010 we made a major leap in changing the bank's headquarters, name, and logo in order to reflect our identity and our Lebanese roots. We also pushed the bank's assets, we succeeded to increase the bank's assets from USD10 million to USD1.5 billion, since we needed a solid platform to build on the new strategy we had planned. The challenge we faced in late 2000 was when we decided to compete with other mid-sized banks in Lebanon. We made it clear to our stakeholders that it was not our utmost endeavor to become one of the big players in the market, but to become the firmest and the strongest one. After the new management was implemented, we were able to achieve the best ratios in the market in terms of liquidity and return on equity; our shareholders have even been referred to as the happiest shareholders in the Lebanese banking sector.
As a mid-size bank operating in the oversaturated Lebanese banking industry, how do you fare amidst the fierce local competition?
We have a strong customer-oriented approach that allows us to know and understand the client's needs. This is our niche expertise to build a solid and long-term relationship with our clients, which enables us to attract new customers and enlarge our customer base. Part of our DNA is to offer prime and quality service rather than acquiring a lot of customers; in other words, our focus is to become stronger rather than bigger. We share our accomplishments with our clients because their success is our success as well. We concentrate our business on the conventional banking transactions, and we are actually competing with the top-five alpha banks in Lebanon in terms of service quality and prices, despite the fact that we are a medium-size bank. Moreover, we have always been highly capitalized as our board's direction demands. We play it safe and manage risks to mitigate their impact without sacrificing the satisfactory level of profit. This might seem to most players in the market as a moderate role; however, we have experienced success stories based on such strategy.
The diaspora is one of Lebanon's major assets in terms of capital inflows. What channels do you use to attract them to Fenicia Bank?
The majority of our shareholders are part of this Lebanese diaspora. As such, we understand our Lebanese expatriate needs and requirements. We maintain good and long-term relationships with eminent Lebanese businessmen abroad and this kind of relationships ordain wide and large channels to meet the requirements of the Lebanese diaspora and reach out to their business fields, mainly in the GCC and western African countries where the Lebanese presence is vast. We have teams that regularly visit those countries and return with new relationships. We try to be next to the Lebanese expatriates side by side to help them meet their goals and succeed wherever they are. The diaspora trusts the Lebanese banking sector, because they are aware of the high caliber of the players here; they know we are accountable, compliant, and that we offer the best services in the market. Most banks in Lebanon are family owned, so this also plays in the favor of good accountability.
A SOLID INCREASE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The Tripoli Transformation
The Tripoli Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) is one of most ambitious projects in Lebanon at the moment. With an initial cost of USD27 million, it is meant to provide an alternative to the heavily centralized economic activity in Beirut, a new gateway for investments and trade to settle in northern Lebanon, and will transform the image of a long-neglected region.
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Dr. Freddie Baz, Vice Chairman & Group Strategy Director, Bank Audi
TBY talks to Dr. Freddie Baz, Vice Chairman & Group Strategy Director of Bank Audi, on the bank's increase in profits, dealing with currency devaluation, and working to turn the economy into an export-driven one.
read articleReview: Insurance
Life is a Rollercoaster
Unlike many emerging markets, Lebanon enjoys a relatively high insurance penetration rate and strong life segment, buoyed by compulsory lines and bancassurance. Competition remains fierce, however, and reform aimed at encouraging consolidation looks far off.
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Max R. Zaccar, Chairman of Commercial Insurance & President of the Association, Insurance Companies
TBY talks to Max R. Zaccar, Chairman of Commercial Insurance & President of the Association of Insurance Companies, on the resilience of the sector, increasing the already-high penetration rates in the country, and remaining one of the strongest insurance companies in the region.
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HE Arthur Nazarian, Minister, Energy and Water Resources
TBY talks to HE Arthur Nazarian, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, on the potential offshoots from oil and gas explorations, the country's National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, and attempts to increase renewable energy consumption.
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Wissam Zahabi, Chairman, Board of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA),
TBY talks to Wissam Zahabi, Chairman of the Board of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA), on making the investment climate attractive for foreign companies and becoming self-sufficient in energy.
read articleFocus: Sovereign Wealth Funds
Gas Pipe Dreams
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Pierre El Khoury, General Director, Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC)
TBY talks to Pierre El Khoury, General Director of the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), on the development of energy efficiency in Lebanon, awareness of energy conservation, and the country's 2020 renewable energy goals.
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Dr. Fady Gemayel, President, Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI)
TBY talks to Dr. Fady Gemayel, President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI), on the group's work to promote industrialists, new developments in terms of industrial cities, and the future of industry in the country.
read articleFocus: Industrial Cities
Industrial Solution
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Marianne Hoayek, Director of the Executive Office, Banque du Liban
TBY talks to Marianne Hoayek, Director of the Executive Office of Banque du Liban, on the roots of the Circular 331 concept, bridging funding gaps throughout the startup lifecycle, and the country's growing knowledge economy.
read articleRoundtable
Thinking It Through
On June 12, TBY and the American-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) organized a roundtable titled “Startup ecosystem sustainability: fostering cooperation to drive entrepreneurship." The participants discussed the impact of Circular 331, an initiative by Bank du Liban, the Lebanese central bank, to inject a potential of USD400 million into the local enterprise market and guarantee 75% of banks' investments in startups and startup support.
read articleFocus: Infrastructure for the startup ecosystem
The New Star
Startups are ubiquitous in Lebanon despite the difficulty of starting a business and the lack of services available to new businesses. However, a number of actors, both public and private, are innovating the environment and allowing startups to fulfill a greater role in the country's economy.
read articleFocus: Maritime Exports Bridge
Bridging The Gap
The conflict in Syria has wrought serious damage on the Lebanese economy, effectively closing off the country's trade routes through Syria. However, a new program geared at balancing the price disparities between land and sea transit is poised to help Lebanese industries.
read articleFocus: Real Estate
A Stimulus For The Rest Of Us
The real estate market in Lebanon is nothing like it used to be. The sector has slowed considerably, and demand has shifted from the traditional center, Beirut. However, stimulus packages from the central bank over the years have proven beneficial for all parties involved.
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Armand Pahrés, President, Lebanese Pharmaceutical Importers Association (LPIA)
TBY talks to Armand Pahrés, President of the Lebanese Pharmaceutical Importers Association (LPIA), on the development of legislation in the sector, boosting further innovation, and opportunities for Lebanon to become more self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals.
read articleFocus: Incentives for pharmaceuticals in Lebanon
Pharma Land
Lebanon has always been the region's leader in all things health related. Its pharmaceutical industry is no exception, and the country's incentives for international pharma companies to operate, manufacture, and distribute in Lebanon are only getting stronger.
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HE Elias Bou Saab, Minister, Education and Higher Education
TBY talks to HE Elias Bou Saab, Minister of Education and Higher Education, on the ministry's initiatives to improve the education system, ensuring access to education for Syrian refugee children, and reversing the brain drain in the country.
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Mohamed Harajli, Provost, American University of Beirut (AUB)
TBY talks to Mohamed Harajli, Provost of the American University of Beirut (AUB), on his upcoming plans for the university, the key role played by the AUB alumni, and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among students.
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High Marks
Proportional to its population, Lebanon has taken in significantly more Syrian refugees than any other country. With the country now facing the problem of placing the tens of thousands of Syrian children in school, international donors and local and foreign organizations are making educational support a priority.
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Joseph G. Jabbra, President, Lebanese American University (LAU)
TBY talks to Joseph G. Jabbra, President of the Lebanese American University (LAU), on embracing technology at the university, the challenges of Lebanon's brain drain, and the importance of having international links with other institutions.
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