Our History

1972The Libyan Foreign Bank was founded as a Libyan joint-stock company with a capital of 20 million Libyan dinars fully paid for by the Central Bank of Libya in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 18 of 1972.

1972Established in 1972, BACB is a UK-registered public limited company. BACB is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Currently, the Libyan Foreign Bank owns 87.65% of its shares.

1972Banca UBAE is a banking corporation funded by Italian and Arab capital. Established in 1972 as “Unione delle Banche Arabe ed Europee,” Banca UBAE is now owned by LFB with a share of 80.15%.

1972Established under an agreement signed on June 20, 1972, Bank Chinguitty was founded from a partnership between two sister Arab countries, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and Libya. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 66% of the capital.

1973Tropical Bank was established in 1973; membership in the Libyan Foreign Bank group enables it to exercise widespread influence. 99.35% of the paid-in capital is owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank.

1973North Africa Commercial Bank S.A.L was established in Beirut in 1973 and was formerly named The Arab Libyan Tunisian Bank. As of today, it is solely owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank after purchasing the Tunisian side’s share in 1989.

1973Banque Commercial du Chari (BCC) is a Chadian-Libyan bank established in 1973, 50% of shares are owned by the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank.

1974The Arab International Bank was established in 1974 under an international treaty concluded by the governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Libya, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 38.76% of the capital.

1975The Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade was established with a joint investment between the Emirates, Algeria, and the Libyan Foreign Bank. Currently, the Libyan Foreign Bank owns 42.28% of the capital.

1975Ares bank was established in 1975 with a capital equivalent to 25 million US dollars. It functions under the supervision of Central Bank of Spain. It is owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank with a share of 99.86%

1975The Arab Intercontinental Bank was established in 1975 in Paris; in 2005, the name of the bank was changed to Banque BIA. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 50% of the bank's capital.

1976The Société Inter-Africain de Banque was established as a public limited company under local law. It was approved as a bank on the basis of an agreement signed between the Libyan Arab Republic and the Republic of Togo on April 9, 1975. The Libyan Foreign Bank now owns 94.07% of its capital.

1977The Arab Turkish Bank was established in 1977 as the first bank specialized in trade between Turkey, Middle East and North Africa. The Libyan Foreign Bank currently owns 62.37% of the bank’s capital.

1978The Banque Commerciale du Niger was established in 1978 as a result of successful cooperation between Libya and Niger. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 92.05% of the bank’s capital.

1980Arab Banking Corporation was established in 1980 in Bahrain, LFB owns 1.93% of its capital.

1982The Banque Commerciale Du Sahel Bamako was established in 1982. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 96.64% of the bank's capital.

1982Alubaf Arab International Bank- Bahrain was established in 1982. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 99.50% of the total shareholders' equity.

1984Banque Tuniso-Libyenne was established in 1984 as a development bank. As of October 20, 2005, it became a commercial bank. Thus, its function is to provide all products and services offered by Tunisian commercial banks. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 50% of the bank's capital.

1984North Africa International Bank was established in 1984 as an offshore banking unit, with an authorized capital of 30,000,000.00 US dollars equally funded by the Tunisian state and the Libyan Foreign Bank.

1985Alubaf International Bank is an offshore bank established in 1985 to promote and develop trade between Maghreb and the rest of the world. It is subject to the laws in the Republic of Tunisia and is now solely owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank.

1987The Arab Jordan Investment Bank was established in 1987 in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the Libyan Foreign Bank owns 12.79% of the bank's capital.

1988In 1988, Resolution No. 887 was issued to increase the capital of the LFB to 300 million Libyan dinars, which is equivalent to one billion US dollars during that time.

1994Moamalat Financial Services Company is a Libyan joint stock company established in 1994. The purpose of the company is to carry out financial services and foreign exchange business inside Libya. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 14.29% of the capital.

1995Operating in the Holding Companies sector, Demoreco Holding Company SAL is a Private Limited Company that was founded in 1995 in Beirut, Lebanon. It is owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank.

1996In 1996, the Libyan Foreign Bank directly participated in the funding of the Suez Canal Bank at a capital value of 27.71%. In addition, there was also an indirect contribution through the Arab International Bank.

1997LFB has contributed to the Housing Bank for Trade & Finance with the value of 17.24% of the bank’s capital.

1998Banque Commerciale Du Burkina was established in 1998 as an outcome of a partnership between the State of Burkina Faso and Libya. It is represented by the Libyan Foreign Bank, 50% of the total shareholders’ equity is owed by the Libyan Foreign Bank.

1998Banque Du Maghreb Arab Pour L’Investissement & Le Commerce was established under an Algerian-Libyan agreement in 1988. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 50% of the total shareholders' equity.

2000Libyan Foreign bank has contributed to the CBZ Bank of Zimbabwe at a 14.06% of the capital value.

2004The US dollar currency was adopted as the base currency after the bank used a basket of currencies. The bank’s capital was replaced from the Libyan dinar to the US dollar with the historical value of one billion dollars.

2005In 2005, the name of the bank was changed from the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank to the Libyan Foreign Bank.

2008Nuran Bank was established in 2008, in the form of a Libyan joint stock company with a capital of 600 million dinars divided equally between the Libyan Foreign Bank and Qatar Holding.

2009The Arab Leasing Company was established in 2009 in Khartoum. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 20% of the company's capital.

2009In 2009, the bank's capital was increased by one billion US dollars, bringing the total paid-up capital to 2 billion US dollars.

2010In 2010, the bank's capital was increased by one billion US dollars, bringing the total paid-up capital to 3 billion US dollars.

2010The Libyan Dinar Unit was established; this enabled the Libyan Foreign Bank to serve its customers in Libyan currency since the work was limited to foreign currency.

2010LFB has contributed to Bank of Jordan with the value of 4.5% of the bank’s capital.

2011The National Financial Leasing Company was established in 2011 in Tripoli. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 30% of the company's capital.