The Banks of Libya

There are about ten major banks in Libya: the Central Bank of Libya,   the Agricultural Bank, the National Commercial Bank, the Commerce & Development Bank, the Arab Foreign Bank, the Savings and Real Estate Investment Bank, the Sahara Bank, al-Jamahiriya Bank, the Umma Bank, and the Wahda Bank. Although all the above banks are state-controlled banks, the Libyan government passed a law in 1993 which allows the public to establish private sector banks in Libya; and now even foreign companies began buying shares in Libyan banks, after the Libyan government began to allow foreign banks to take part in preparing the country for the development planned ahead. It was reported that six big lenders, including HSBC Holding PLC and Standard Chartered PLC, were short-listed for two banking licenses in Libya. The BNP Paribas of France owns 19 percent of Sahara Bank; while the Arab Bank of Jordan has a similar stake in Wahda Bank. The Libyan Arab Foreign Bank implements the international functions of the Central Bank of Libya through subsidiaries in some 20 foreign countries. Libya has also started granting "banking licences" in 2011 to foreign banks to operate in Libya in partnership with local Libyan businesses. So far it has granted one licence to the Italian Unicredit.

 

The Libyan National Payment System (NPS):

Although the Libyan monetary system is rapidly catching up with the current international standards, there are a number of issues that still are under development; at the top of which rests the introduction of electronic monetary systems into the various financial services. These systems will be electronically linked via fiber optic technologies and digital and wireless satellites systems, using sophisticated encryption procedures to ensure the safety of the transmitted transactions. Article (5) of the Banking Law (1) of the year 2005 categorically capacitates the Central Bank of Libya to supervise the development of the NPS. In a joint cooperative project with various commercial banks, the CBL has began to implement the latest developments in information technology to modernise the NPS. As a result, foreign companies were awarded contracts to supervise the development of the following systems:

Core Banking System (CBS): a system to develop technologies to enable businesses and banks to benefit from the National Payment System and improve their global relations.

Automated Teller Machines (ATM): an electronic system of money distribution and balance keeping for the customers of all the participating banks, via automated teller machines (ATM).

Automated Checks Processing (ACP): an inter-banks electronic system to oversee the clearing of cheques and settling their values.

Automated Clearing House (ACH): all banks need to settle their accounts and transactions with their clients before reaching the RTGS (see below).

Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS): an electronic system which forces all financial bodies, such as banks, to settle all transaction accounts with the Central Bank of Libya at the end of each business day.

Points Of Sales (POS): an electronic system enabling businesses and customers to execute electronic payments at points of sales.

 

 

List of The Main Banks in Libya:

 

African Bank of Trade and Investment
Address: Tripoli Tower, 2nd Floor, No. 28, P.O. Box 12132, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3351405

 

Agricultural Bank
Address: al-Swihli Square, P.O. Box 1110, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 333541 - 333544

 

Alejmaa Alarabi Bank
Address: al-Sherif Street, P.O. Box 17551, Benghazi, Libya
Tel.: (61) 9090128 - 9096679

 

Alsaraya (As-Saraya) Trading And Development Bank
Address: Mizran Street, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 4447692 - 4445106

 

AL-Umma Bank
Address: Omar al-Mokhtar Street, P.O. Box 685, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3332888 - 3331195

 

Al-Wafa Bank
www.alwafabank.com
Address: al-Falah Street, P.O. Box 84212, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 4815124

 

Aman (Alaman) Bank For Commerce & Investment
www.abci-ly.com
Address: Dat al-Imad Complex, Tower 3, P.O. Box 91271, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3350216 - 3350219
Aman Bank Building
Hay Alandulus, P.O. Box: 6296, Tripoli, Libya
Tel: (21) 4780072

 

Bank of Commerce & Development
Address: Frusiya Building For Investment, P.O. BOX 5045, Benghazi, Libya
Tel.: (61) 9097300
(www(dot)bankofcd(dot)com: caution: www.siteadvisor.com identified an .exe file named app010 to contain maleware, the file is available for download from the bank's site).

 

Bank of Valleta PLC
Address: Borj Tarabolous (Tripoli Tower), Ground Floor, Office 49, P.O. Box 93299, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3351661-3
www.bov.com/page.asp?n=overseasrepoffices & l=1

 

British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB)
http://www.bacb.co.uk/
Address: Tripoli Tower, Floor 15, no. 154, P.O. Box 91051, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 335 1489

 

Central Bank of Libya (the monetary authority in Libya)
http://cbl.gov.ly/
Address: P.O. Box 1103, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3333591-99

 

Development Bank
Address: P.O Box 3180, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 4446622 - 4802046

 

Gumhouria Bank
Address: P.O. Box 0465004, Gharyan, Libya
Tel.: (41) 631960-61

 

Libyan Foreign Bank
www.lafbank.com
Address: Dat al-Imad Complex, Tower 2, P.O. Box 3180, Tripoli
Tel.: (21) 3350155 - 3350168

 

Mediterranean Bank
www.meditbank.net
Address: Omar al-Mokhtar Street, P.O. Box 410, Benghazi, Libya
Tel.: (61) 9098386 - 9091048 - 9098106
http://www.meditbank.net/main%20page.html

 

National Banking Corporation
Address: Addahra, Ben Walid Street, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 4448623-4449730

 

National Commercial Bank
http://ncb.ly/ar/
Address: Orouba Street, P.O. Box 543, Libya, al-Bayda
Tel.: (21) 3612429 - 3612267 - 3617977

 

Saving and Real-Estate Investment Bank
Address: Khalifa al-Zaidi Street, P.O. Box 2289, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 4449306 - 4449308 - 4449310

 

Sahara Bank (al-Sahari Bank)
www.saharabank.com.ly
Address: 1st September Street, P.O. Box 720, Tripoli, Libya
Tel.: (21) 3332771 - 4442920

 

United Bank For Trade & Investment
Gurji Road
Tripoli
http://www.ubci.ly

 

Wahda Bank
http://www.wahdabank.org/english/index.asp
Address: Omar Abulfadeel Square, P.O. Box 452, Benghazi, Libya
Tel.: (61) 24519 - 24142 - 24256 - 24250