# Banque Libano-Francaise

Banque Libano-Francaise is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Beirut, Lebanon.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust
- **Headquarters:** Beirut, Lebanon
- **Region:** Middle East
- **Address:** Beirut, Lebanon
- **Founded:** 1967
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** eblf.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/banque-libano-francaise

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Banque Libano-Francaise is a bank headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon. It oversees assets totaling approximately $81.2 billion across two funds. Its regional focus is the Middle East.

## Sectors

- Financial Services
- Real Estate
- Private Equity

## People

- Raya Nahas — Chairperson and General Manager
- Walid Raphael — Deputy General Manager

## Questions

### Who controls Banque Libano-Francaise?

Control rests with the Raphael family via the HOLDFING holding company, which is the bank's largest single shareholder. The French banking group Crédit Agricole held a significant minority stake of roughly 31% before the crisis but has since marked its investment down to near zero and no longer exercises meaningful influence over operations.

### What happened to BLF during the 2019 Lebanese financial collapse?

Like all Lebanese banks, BLF was forced to implement informal capital controls, restricting dollar withdrawals and transfers. Its balance sheet was decimated by the sovereign default on Eurobonds and the effective confiscation of obligatory reserves at Banque du Liban. The bank has since operated under a de facto "wait-and-see" regulatory framework, processing limited withdrawals at deeply discounted parallel-market exchange rates.

### Does BLF still have a wealth management or investment operation?

Its wealth management offering is curtailed to custody and advisory on remaining onshore assets, given that most large depositors have moved capital out of the Lebanese banking system. The principal investment book is no longer an active deployment vehicle but a legacy portfolio managing existing real estate, private equity, and insurance subsidiary assets through the restructuring cycle.

### What is the bank's relationship with Crédit Agricole?

Crédit Agricole was a cornerstone foreign shareholder from the bank's founding in 1967. In the wake of Lebanon's crisis, Crédit Agricole wrote off its investment, removing its board representatives and reporting zero carrying value for the stake. The formal shareholding remains legally intact but is financially inactive, leaving the Raphael family as the sole active controlling bloc.

### How does BLF's restructuring posture differ from other major Lebanese banks?

BLF has not executed a cross-border merger, relocated its legal headquarters, or voluntarily surrendered its banking license — paths taken to varying degrees by peers Bank Audi (which shifted senior management to Paris) and Blom Bank (which sold its Egyptian subsidiary to raise dollar liquidity). BLF's standalone Lebanese-chartered survival makes it a direct counterparty to any government-led depositor recovery plan, a high-risk posture that aligns its fate fully with domestic resolution.

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- [Banque Gabonaise de Développement](https://altss.com/profile/banque-gabonaise-de-d-veloppement)
- [Banque Pâris Bertrand](https://altss.com/profile/banque-p-ris-bertrand)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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