James Wakim, Managing Director of Beirut Hellenic Bank (BHB) believes that despite the current sluggish economy, the future is looking bright for BHB which formed earlier this year.

BHB was conceived when Bank of Beirut, which is listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange, bought over 90 per cent of Laiki Bank Australia .

Wakim, who was born in Lebanon in 1955 and grew up in Melbourne, headed Arab Bank Australia for 12 years before heading up BHB.

With Emirates Bank as a shareholder in Beirut Hellenic, Wakim believes the bank can emulate the reputation of Emirates Airlines in providing world-beating customer service. Competing on service and price has been key to the bank’s growth under Wakim’s management, and has claimed the best deposit rates since it opened.

With $1.3bn on deposit, BHB operated ten Laiki Bank branches when ownership changed in February. Wakim’s vision is to have 50 branches nationally in the next three years, taking staff numbers from 120 to 300.

Having recently opened new branches in Sydney’s Burwood and Brunswick in Melbourne, is looking to open a branch in Perth. Through an alliance with Australia Post, BHB customers can also access the bank’s services through the post office network.

Whilst BHB’s funding comes from its retail deposits (for each dollar BHB lends, $1.30 comes in deposits), the bank is increasingly targeting Australian’s import-export sector to underpin its growth, says Wakim: “We see a huge opportunity there. There is $14bn in trade between Australia and the Middle East. It will be impacted by how the Australian dollar fares, but it’s a market that is relatively untapped by the Australian banks.”

BHB’s clients are largely retail, and small to medium businesses, with
an emphasis on the professions and trades: lawyers, accountants,
builders and manufacturers. “Among our clients, the people who own
restaurants and coffee shops, I don’t see any downturn,” Wakim says,
adding that small business manufacturing that does not rely on exports
is also stable.

Currently around 10-15 per cent of deposits with BHB are from
clients of non-Arab or non-Greek ethnic origin, but the bank’s Managing
Director is committed to pushing the bank into the mainstream.