Comparative study of retail bank products in foreign banks in Lebanon

Abstract

This thesis presents the important role of the foreign banks in Lebanon during the war and after the war until mid of year 2000. In spite of the significant role and the high customer perception of the foreign banks, their role has deteriorated due to high competition in the banking sector. Mergers and acquisitions within the local banks has created some giant banks, which are making the competition tough and pushing the sector few steps ahead, at the same time surviving as local bank in the market has become questionable for some banks. Alternatively, other foreign banks have arrived to the market and are expected to make challenging move and quake in the sector as a whole and within the foreign banks specially. Lebanese banking sector has a big potential to attract new customers from the surrounding countries due to the law of bank secrecy. This law of secrecy abides all the employees of the banking sector to keep all the information about their clients undisclosed. Even the foreign banks operating in Lebanon abide with this rule. The leading role that the foreign banks had enjoyed during the past years has become out dated. The advanced technology that the foreign banks considered as a competing feature is now being carried out with most of the banks in market. Bank of Lebanon is regulating the market by applying tough rules and regulations on the banks to protect the local banks from bankruptcy and to increase the competition within the sector. Decreasing the market share of the foreign banks has its reasons some of which is covered in this project. However, the foreign banks could differentiate themselves not only with their products but, with the value and the service that they provide to their customers. This research work has explained most of the retail banking products that are offered by the foreign banks in Lebanon through exploratory research method.