Bank Audi

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Bank Audi S.A.L.
Company typeSociété anonyme libanaise
Beirut Stock Exchange: AUDI
LSE: BQAD
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedBeirut, Lebanon (1830 (1830))
Headquarters
Beirut
,
Lebanon
Area served
Key people
Raymond Audi
(co-founder)
Samir Hanna
(Chairman of the Board of Directors)
ProductsConsumer banking, corporate banking, insurance, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, private equity, wealth management, credit cards, treasury and capital markets
Total assetsLBP1,506,995 billion (March 2024)
Number of employees
3,100+ (March 2024)[1]
Websitewww.bankaudigroup.com www.bankaudi.com.lb

Bank Audi (Arabic: بنك عودة, previously Bank Audi-Saradar) is a Lebanon-based universal bank and financial services company headquartered in Beirut, offering financial products and services in personal banking, business banking, private banking and Treasury and Capital Markets segments.

Bank Audi operates principally in Lebanon, in Europe, in the MENA region and in Turkey.[2][3]

As at end-June 2024, Bank Audi’s consolidated assets reached LBP 1,506,637 billion, principally driven by private customers’ deposits of LBP 1,114,289 billion, with shareholders’ equity reaching LBP 84,416 billion. Bank Audi’s group staff headcount exceeds 2,900 employees and its shareholders’ base encompasses more than 1,500 holders of common shares and/or holders of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) representing common shares.

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History

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Bank Audi was founded in 1830, but was only incorporated as a bank in 1962.[4][5]

Members of the Audi family, as well as Kuwaiti investors, were the first shareholders. Since 1983, the shareholder base has expanded and currently consists of more than 1,500 holders of Common Shares and Global Depository Receipts.

In 2004, Bank Audi signed a merger agreement with Banque Saradar, entitling Saradar Holding to become one of the largest shareholders of Bank Audi sal-Audi Saradar Group.[6] After six years of managing the Audi Saradar Group Private Banking, both banks de-merged, and Bank Audi continued privately on its own.

On 20 February 2019, Bank Audi announced a new deposit agreement by which The Bank of New York Mellon is named the successor depositary bank for its global depositary receipt programme, replacing Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as Depositary.[7][8]

After former Central Bank of Lebanon governor Riad Salameh was charged with embezzling $330 million in public funds, the Swiss financial regulator FINMA launched investigations into Lebanese banks with operations in Switzerland and in 2024 censured Bank Audi for serious money laundering violations.[9]

Operations

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Board of directors

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  • Mr. Samir N. Hanna, Chairman of the Board of Directors[10]
  • Dr. Marwan M. Ghandour
  • Mr. Marc J. Audi
  • Mr. Abdullah I. Al Hubayb
  • Dr. Khalil M. Bitar
  • Mrs. Sherine R. Audi
  • Mr. Farid F. Lahoud, Group corporate secretary

Banking services

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Retail and personal banking

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Personal banking at Bank Audi consists of the services and products offered to the individuals.[11]

Commercial and corporate banking

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Business Banking[12] at Bank Audi is the set of services offered to businesses and corporations in Lebanon. It includes corporate banking, commercial banking, and SME banking.

Private banking

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Bank Audi Private Bank began its operations in 1976 and has been handling it through two main booking centers based in Switzerland and United Arab Emirates.[13]

Major shareholders

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FRH Investment Holding sal holds the greatest shares, followed by Audi family, heirs of Sheikha Suad Hamad Al Saleh Al Homaizi, Sheikh Dhiab Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, Al Sabbah family, and others.[14]

Main subsidiaries

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Bank Audi sal subsidiaries include Odea Bank – Turkey, Banque Audi – Switzerland, Audi Private Bank sal, Audi Capital – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bank Audi – Qatar, Bank Audi France sa, SOLIFAC and Audi Investments Holding.[15]

Innovative services

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In 2011, Bank Audi introduced NOVO spaces in selected locations to allow live video chat with tellers and to provide an advisory room for expert consultancies.[16]

Bank Audi introduced Interactive Teller Machines by the NCR Corporation in 2014.[17] Their concept revolve around allowing customers to talk live to a personal teller for transfers, deposits, cashing cheques and making different types of payments.[18]

In 2014, Bank Audi introduced Tap2Pay, the first near-field communication mobile payment service in Lebanon and the Middle East.[19]

Culture

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Audi foundation

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Founded in 2000 by Raymond Audi, the Audi Foundation aims at preserving the culture, heritage and craftsmanship of Sidon, Lebanon.

In 2018, World Music Day was celebrated by the Audi Foundation with two concerts,[20] and the Swiss World Cup matches[21] were transmitted on the terraces, in an event.

Corporate art collection

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Bank Audi created a comprehensive corporate art collection, located in three of the bank's buildings.

Corporate social responsibility

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Bank Audi started its corporate social responsibility initiatives in 2012. Its CSR policy currently contributes to five pillars: corporate governance, economic development, community development, human development and environmental protection. In 2017,[22]

Sponsorship

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Bank Audi sponsored the More Than Money program by Injaz Lebanon that aims at educating children in school about earning, spending, tracking, and investing cash.[23]

Bank Audi launched Beyond Banking Hackathon to nurture Lebanon's fintech and banking sectors by creating an environment for participants to test their ideas prior to launching.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Corporate Profile". Bank Audi. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Bank Audi Group – Corporate Profile". bankaudigroup.com. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  3. ^ "Worldwide Correspondents". bankaudi.com.lb. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  4. ^ "Commercial Register of the Lebanese Ministry of Justice". Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  5. ^ "Banque Du Liban Registered Banks in Lebanon". Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  6. ^ "Our Story - Saradar Group". saradar.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  7. ^ "fundservices Website". fundservices.net. 2019-03-22. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  8. ^ "Bank Audi Announcements" (PDF). bankaudigroup.com. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-20.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Jones, Sam; Jalabi, Raya. "Swiss find Lebanon's biggest bank guilty of serious money laundering breaches". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Board of Directors and Group Executive Committee". www.bankaudigroup.com. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  11. ^ "Personal Banking". bankaudi.com.lb. Archived from the original on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  12. ^ "Business Banking". bankaudi.com.lb. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  13. ^ "Private Banking". bankaudi.com.lb. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  14. ^ "Bank Audi Shareholders". bankaudigroup.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  15. ^ "Download File". bankaudigroup.com. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  16. ^ "Bank Audi Launches "Novo", the Ultimate New Banking Experience & Events, ABL - Association of banks in lebanon". abl.org.lb. Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  17. ^ "Interactive Teller". NCR. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  18. ^ NCR Corporation, NCR Interactive Teller – Bank Audi Case Study, archived from the original on 2021-12-20, retrieved 2019-02-01
  19. ^ "Bank Audi Launches "Tap2Pay"; the First NFC Mobile Payment Service in Lebanon and the Region". MasterCard Social Newsroom. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  20. ^ "Fête de la Musique 2018 à la Fondation Audi/Musée du Savon". audifoundation.org.lb/. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  21. ^ "World Cup Matches at Audi Foundation/Soap Museum". audifoundation.org.lb/. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  22. ^ "Bank Audi's CSR Report 2017-Committed – Press Releases on CSRwire.com". csrwire.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  23. ^ "It is definitely More Than Money with Bank Audi | Injaz Lebanon". injaz-lebanon.org. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  24. ^ "Seedstars World". Seedstars World. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
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