Syria country profile
The Syrian banking system largely consists of five state-owned banks and several private banks, which are mostly branches of foreign banks providing
fact file
services to the private sector inside the country. For at least forty years, the state had maintained a monopoly on the banking system following the principle that the role of banking should be to support
Country Name: Syrian Arab Republic
the country’s economic development. Liberalisation was embarked on before the conflict to allow private banks to operate commercially although this process had not been extended to the privatisation
Capital:
of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) which exercises
Damascus
a key role in the sector. Law No 28/2001 adopted in
Land Area:
March 2001 permitted the establishment of private
185,180 km
2
Languages:
banks in the country. All aspects of Syrian banking are handled by the
Arabic, with both English and French widely spoken
five state-owned banks, which have enjoyed monopoly
Currency:
positions in their respective areas. Operating under the
Syrian Pound (Lira)
joint supervision of the CBS and the Ministry of Economy
Dialling Code:
and Foreign Trade, these banks are the Commercial Bank of Syria, the Agriculture Co-operative Bank, the Popular
+963 (00 963 from UK)
Credit Bank, the Real Estate Bank and the Industrial
Population:
Bank.The General Establishment of the Post Office Fund
22,457,336 (July 2013 est)
acts as a facility for small private depositors. The Commercial Bank of Syria is the country’s largest
Main Industries:
and most important bank. Its responsibilities include
Petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing and car assembly
domestic and international trade finance, foreign
Main Agricultural Products: Wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry and milk
exchange and the provision of hard currency accounts. As of September 2012, there were 20 banks in Syria (11 private banks, 6 public banks, and 3 Islamic banks) with 536 branches, of which 172 in Damascus and suburbs, 80 in Aleppo, 39 in Tartous, 38 in Homs, 37 in Lattakia, 36 in Hama, and 34 in Al-Hasaka. Lebanese banks have traditionally played an important part in the Syrian banking sector.According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon, 7 May 2013, subsidiaries and associates of Lebanese banks were 6 out of the 20 with a total number of branches equal to 114 of which 44 branches located in Damascus and suburbs, 21 in Aleppo, and 11 in Homs. The total capital of these 20 banks attained 167 billion Syrian pounds at the end of the third quarter 2012, of which 16% the share of subsidiaries and Associates of Lebanese banks.
88
Arab British Banking & Finance Directory 2013/14