VZCZCXRO5463
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #1544/01 2761418
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031418Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9608
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1663
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001544 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/YERGER/DEMOPULOS, STATE FOR 
NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2017 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ENIV PGOV PREL PTER LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON:  LEBANESE BANKS IN PLAY? 
 
Classified By: DCM William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Recent Rumors of the sale of BLOM Bank, to either Arab 
Bank or Audi Bank, were persistent enough to cause BLOM to 
issue a disclaimer.  However, both BLOM and Audi tacitly 
admit unconsummated deals.  Some regional player, almost 
certainly the Arab Bank, also tried to make a deal with one 
of the banks.  A hostile takeover would be impossible, but a 
negotiated deal to sell BLOM could come at any time.  Audi 
wants to expand, and considers BLOM and Byblos Bank to be for 
sale.  End summary. 
 
MEETINGS WITH BANKS TO 
EXPLORE RUMORS OF SALES 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) For the last two weeks rumors have been swirling 
around the Beirut "street" about the possible sale of the two 
largest banks in Lebanon -- Audi Bank and BLOM Bank.  The 
persistence of the rumors and the details regarding the 
proposed deals prompted Econoffs to meet with principals in 
both banks, as well as Bank Med, on September 27 and 28 to 
seek confirmation.  Saad Azhari, Vice Chairman and General 
Manager of BLOM Bank, denied the existence of any deal. 
Saying that the rumors were "bizarre," Azhari said that BLOM 
felt required to comment to the media about them.  In fact, 
while we were in his office he took a call from Reuters to 
deny the story.  Azhari said he felt compelled to call a 
board meeting for September 28 to discuss the rumors and to 
issue a statement.  (Note: On Saturday, September 29, 2007, 
BLOM placed an ad in local papers to deal with the rumors. 
See paragraph 9, below.  End note.) 
 
BLOM EXPLAINS SOURCE 
-------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Azhari explained his assessment of the source of the 
rumor.  About a week earlier Solidere, the publicly traded 
company which owns and operates downtown Beirut, paid a large 
dividend.  A major client (unspecified) of Bank Med bought a 
significant number of Global Depository Receipts (GDR) in 
BLOM.  (Note: GDRs are non-voting shares of a bank; in 
effect, these are bearer bonds.  End note.)  This purchase 
sparked a flurry of activity in BLOM GDRs, and subsequently 
in Audi GDRs as well.  However, sales of publicly traded 
voting shares in the banks did not show any activity at all. 
Azhari denied that the bank was for sale, stressing that BLOM 
would prefer to remain independent.  However, although he 
said that BLOM had not received any formal offer, he would 
neither confirm nor deny having discussed a possible sale 
with potential purchasers. 
 
WHY WOULD BLOM SELL? 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Azhari said BLOM cannot be the subject of a hostile 
takeover because the sale of any of the voting shares must 
have board approval.  The board, which is composed of what 
Azhari refers to as the "big families" in banking, owns a 
controlling interest in the bank.  In addition, any sale of 
more than 5 percent of any shares must have the approval of 
the Central Bank (CBL).  Therefore, any proposed sale of BLOM 
would require management's knowledge.  Azhari said that BLOM 
is doing very well, and has no reason to sell.  He said that 
Audi Bank is not doing as well, and although their ratios are 
generally favorable, Audi is not as successful as BLOM with 
its expansion strategy. 
 
WHO MIGHT BUY? 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Azhari explained the nature of the various rumors, 
which confirmed what we had heard; potential purchasers were 
either the Lebanese banks Arab Bank, controlled by the Hariri 
family, or Audi. 
 
¶6. (C) Although no one mentioned Bank Med as a part of the 
proposed deals, as a Hariri-family bank, and the source of 
the initial GDR buyer, Bank Med has a unique perspective on 
the situation.  In a meeting with Bank Med executives Fouad 
Saad, Deputy General Manager and Head of Treasury, and Dr. 
Mazen Soueid, Chief Economist, we heard the same story about 
a key client purchasing GDRs.  Saad said he had heard the 
 
BEIRUT 00001544  002 OF 002 
 
 
rumor that Arab Bank would buy BLOM, but also that Audi was a 
target, but he had no idea of the potential buyer of Audi. 
Saad and Soueid both stated that Bank Med is in sound 
financial shape, despite massive write-offs in 2006.  (Note: 
The general opinion of the banking "street" now is that Bank 
Med is shaky, and the Arab Bank is facing some serious 
challenges, related to management issues.  End note.) 
 
AUDI WANTS TO BE A BUYER 
------------------------ 
 
¶7. (C) To complete the circuit we met with Dr. Freddie Baz, 
Vice Chairman of Audi Bank.  Baz, who was as open as Azhari 
but more blunt, not only acknowledged the rumors, but also 
acknowledged that deals had been under discussion, but all 
had fallen through.  Baz said that Audi, which is only 
slightly smaller than BLOM, wants to be the bank that "signs 
the front of the check," meaning the buyer, rather than the 
"back of the check," meaning the seller.  Baz said that both 
BLOM and Byblos Bank, the third largest Lebanese bank, are 
for sale if the deal is right.  According to Baz, Lebanese 
banks are undervalued and the shares are cheap, so 
institutional investors and other banks are interested in 
buying.  Citing Arab Bank as the only real regional bank, Baz 
said that Audi has a five-year plan to make Audi a regional 
bank.  He also explained that the management hopes to 
position Audi so that it cannot be sold, or at least the 
price will be very high. 
 
ALL DEALS NOW OFF 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (C) When asked to confirm the existence of an offer from 
Arab Bank for BLOM, Baz would not comment, implying that it 
did indeed exist.  However, he tacitly acknowledged that Audi 
did try to buy BLOM, but "all deals are off" right now.  He 
said that it takes no time at all to put a deal together in 
this environment, because all the Lebanese banks know the 
details of each other's balance sheets.  He also said that 
the increased interest in both BLOM and Audi GDRs was due to 
interest in profit taking among investors who believed that 
the value of both the buying and selling banks would 
increase, given any sale. 
 
BLOM ANNOUNCEMENT 
----------------- 
 
¶9. (U) The BLOM announcement was as follows: 
 
For the purpose of total transparency with the capital 
markets, and given the circulating rumors regarding the 
offers to buy BLOM Bank S.A.L. shares or its merger with 
another bank, the Board of Directors of BLOM Bank S.A.L. 
confirms the following: 
 
      ¶1. We have effectively witnessed a big interest in BLOM 
Bank's S.A.L. shares, which is considered as a positive 
indicator. 
 
      ¶2. BLOM Banks' Board of Directors has never mandated 
anyone to negotiate such offers on its behalf and does not in 
any case encourage or support them. 
 
      ¶3. The Bank's policy, which relies mainly on ensuring a 
strong organic growth rather than on mergers, has proven to 
be very successful.  In fact, this policy has allowed BLOM 
Bank to maintain, for a long period of time, the first rank 
in the Lebanese banking sector, in terms of financial 
strength and profits.  End quote. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) Based on these conversations, and the subsequent BLOM 
announcement, we are convinced that both Arab Bank and Audi 
attempted to purchase BLOM, but without success.  However, it 
is likely that several of the Lebanese banks are in play, and 
a deal could come together very quickly at any time.  Given 
the public faith in the Lebanese banking system, which has 
remained stable and solvent through years of political 
turmoil, the potential sale of either of the two largest and 
most profitable banks will spark a lot of interest.  Both 
banks hold a large amount of GOL securities; it is possible 
that non-Lebanese owners would not be as supportive of the 
GOL. 
FELTMAN