As Lebanon's larger banks tap the international markets to increase their capital and long - term resources, the gap between small group of internationally active institutions and the general run of small, mainly family - owned banks continue to grow. Like their larger competitors, Lebanon's smaller banks need to raise capital resources to survive in an increasingly competitive market. In the last few years the Central Bank has encouraged mergers between smaller institutions and the acquisitions of small banks by larger ones. It has put pressure on smaller institutions by raising minimum capital ...