Institutional Banking at BankMed is handled by the Financial Institutions (FI) Division, and it primarily focuses on managing and strengthening the Bank’s institutional relationships with other FIs across various products and services. Over the past 2 years, the Bank has been able to expand significantly its network of FI relationships with local, regional and international correspondents that cater to the Bank’s growing needs in various areas such as correspondent banking, trade finance, cash management, nostro/vostro accounts, treasury, custody, etc. FI Division is also responsible for handling all credit aspects and due diligence related to Institutional Banking. We have been also able to develop our international lending capabilities through the participation in high profile syndications and other debt capital markets transactions in the primary and secondary markets. Additionally, we are responsible for ensuring that adequate credit limits have been availed to the Bank from our network of correspondents, which is crucial for accommodating the growing needs and sophistication of our clientele. Trade Finance is also one of our focus areas, as we offer Trade Finance sales support and solutions to our customers.
Correspondent Banking and Networking
ü Correspondent Banking is part FI Division’s responsibility and it is key to the development of our international network of correspondents and the growing needs of the bank and its clientele.
ü We maintain strong correspondent banking relationships with more than 70 banks worldwide (please refer to the list of our major correspondents) including prime banks in the US, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
ü Nostro accounts are held in major currencies (please refer to our Standard Settlement Instructions).
ü Our correspondents have always showed support and confidence in the Lebanese banking sector in general and our Bank in particular. Our role is to ensure adequate credit lines are availed to the Bank, which is key to the development of the Bank's activity with customers.
ü In addition to its wide deposit base, the Bank has access to diversified sources of funding. We have arranged a number of short term and long term bi-lateral agreements between the Bank and international and regional financial institutions, including but not limited to banks, Government agencies, investment/development banks, etc.
Trade Finance
ü We provide trade finance services and solutions to our customer base through our correspondent banking capabilities and overseas network.
ü Our trade finance services include a wide array of instruments and products that cater to all customers' needs for both import and export purposes (please refer to Trade Finance section).
ü Risk participation in Trade Finance transactions is a growing business in the region. We work permanently on identifying new opportunities through our network of correspondents and close FI relationships.
Lending and Syndications
ü FI Division is responsible for managing the Bank’s overall FI credit limits availed to our counterparties.
ü We are developing our international desk in order to participate in regional and international syndicated facilities in the primary markets. We have concluded a number of participations in high profile syndications.
ü We also look into lending opportunities in the secondary market loan assets in line with the Bank’s credit/risk policies and yield thresholds.