Bank of Sydney is about to get a rev from its owner, Bank of Beirut, with the latter telling its hometown media of a serious growth agenda in Australia.
Bank chairman Salim Sfeir told
The Daily Star that the assets of Bank of Sydney would eventually represent a substantial share of Bank of Beirut's consolidated balance sheet.
"Australia represents a huge market opportunity for us. Bank of Sydney, with its 16 branches, is one of the best capitalized and most liquid banks in Australia, with a loan to deposit ratio of less than 80 per cent," Sfeir said.
"The Australian marketplace is indeed competitive, but we have been able to execute a strong strategic plan," he said.
"We can foresee in the not-too-distant future that Bank of Sydney's balance sheet will exceed our local balance sheet, thanks to the stability, prosperity and potential of the Australian economy."
Bank of Sydney has around to A$2 billion in assets, but a market share of only 0.09 per cent on deposits and one third that on home loans.