Banque Misr Liban (BML) received the Best Commercial Bank in Lebanon Award in 2012 by World Finance, in recognition of its unique and diversified banking products and services. The bank was granted such award for the great efforts exerted by its new administration since 2007 in expanding and developing its products. The bank succeeded in achieving internal restructure, updating services, increasing branches and developing competitive banking products and services, in addition to increasing the capital to be suitable to the high growth rates achieved. The bank's assets grew by 107%, deposits by 107% and loans and advances by 138% for the period from 2007 to 2011, registering the highest growth rates in the Lebanese banking sector. In addition, the bank's shareholders' equity rose by 163%, thanks to the increase in capital and undistributed profits. BML was established in Beirut in March 1929 and is one of Lebanon's oldest banks, ranking number three on the official list of banks in the country. For more than 40 years before and after Lebanon's independence it grew to become one of the largest and most innovative banks in Lebanon with a customer base that included leading companies and high net worth individuals in Lebanon and the region. The bank was also distinguished during this period by the size and distribution of its branch network, as it was the first bank to establish branches outside Beirut and throughout Lebanon's main cities and regions. BML today is 92.44 percent owned by the Banque Misr (Egypt) banking group, the largest bank in Egypt and one of the largest in the Arab world with total assets exceeding $30bn in 2011. In addition to BML, it has branches and affiliate banks in the United Arab Emirates, France and Germany, as well as interests in 135 projects worldwide. Banque Misr is fully owned by the Central Bank of Egypt, which in turn makes BML the only commercial bank in Lebanon that is owned by an Arab financial institution, and thus gives it additional inherent strength and credibility.
