News

Byblos Bank-Syria has launched a basket of Retail Products and Services for the Syrian market including an auto loan, a personal loan, and electronic cards. This comes after the bank already started a real estate loan in early 2007 and was the first to do so in the private banking community in Syria. These services were announced at a press conference in Damascus on September 10, 2007. Walid Abdul-Nour, the Deputy Manager of Byblos Bank-Syria, gave a speech outlining the bank’s objectives in the Syrian market. Among other things it aimed at ‘providing the best’ and meeting the ambitions of shareholders. The conditions for the car loan, for example, include a 10% down payment, a restriction on car brand, and a 5-year repayment policy. Similar services will be available with the personal loan, which will have easy installments within an suitable timeframe for customers who are short on cash. Finally, with regard to electronic cards, Byblos Bank offers debit and charge cards, both of which operate on high security. Wrapping up at the conference, Georges Fares, the Head of the Cards Unit at Byblos Bank-Syria, said: “Tomorrow will be a brighter day” in reference to the Bank’s motto.

The Four Seasons Hotel-Damascus has launched its yoga lessons at the Balloran Spa. Individuals or groups can now practice yoga—yet another addition to the hotel’s already diversified services. This addition comes after the Four Seasons promoted Thai food and massage earlier this summer—another novelty in Damascus. Massage specialists and chefs came to Syria came from Four Seasons Chiang Mai resort. This, according to Naram Omran, the Four Seasons Damascus Public Relations Manager: “Is part of the cultural exchange that Four Seasons Hotel tries to develop through its 74 managed properties in 31 countries. It also helps widen the know-how of its Syrian staff, who also go to other Four Seasons to teach people about Aleppine cooking.”

A delegation from Arab Bank Group came to Damascus on August 22, 2007 to meet with Adib Mayaleh, the governor of the Central Bank of Syria. The delegation, headed by Michael Matossian, the Arab Bank Global Head of Group Regulatory Compliance, included members of Arab Bank-Syria. In addition to Mayaleh, they also met Imad Mowed, the secretary-general of the Financial Intelligence Unit, and conducted a presentation for over 30-people (CEOs, GMS, and Compliance Officers CO) on public and private banking in Syria. The meeting aimed at open exchange of ideas between both parties, on how to strengthen compliance and manage risk while focusing on added value, and customer satisfaction. Financial institutions are always required to comply with new laws and regulations. That is a permanent challenge and in light of it, Compliance Managers must recognize significant risks and implement effective compliance programs. This would include systems, people, and process to manage the critical trade off between risk and return, and as Matossian said: “ensuring that the risk taken is the risk intended.” Compliance risk is the risk of damage to the organization’s business model, reputation or financial condition arising from violations or non-conformance with laws, regulations, internal standards and policies. The consequences of non-compliance are significant. Depending on jurisdiction, companies, can face ines, penalties, payment of damages, voiding of contracts, restrictions on business activities and most importantly, damaged reputation and reduced franchise value. For individuals, jobs may be jeopardized, they can be banned from the industry, or prosecuted criminally. To help protect against compliance violations, compliance officers, using a risk based approach, conduct assessments, prepare profiles, implement procedures, perform monitoring, and manage regulatory examinations. As is true of any business, compliance officers must exercise best judgment to reach a reasonable balance between business objectives and control functions to best mitigate risks. Doing so requires that they be proactive in understanding the business objectives and strategies and ensure that they are responsive to management’s needs, issues, or deficiencies identified. Equally important, compliance officers must also raise issues and concerns; failure to challenge the status quo can undermine the credibility of compliance officers.

The Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCI)-Syria held an award ceremony for ‘best short story competition’ at the Arab Cultural Centre on September 11, 2007. Seventy participants, and their families, were invited to the event, along with JCI members, a jury, and the celebrated Syrian novelist Colette Khoury. The event included speeches by Katia Chatta, JCI Vice-President for the Community Area, and Nada Asaad, the President of the JCI Damascus Chapter. Lara Koubat, the project director, announced the names of the _five winners. Their names will be published in a book, and they will be given the chance to write their own editorial in Baladna Newspaper, the main sponsor of the event. Finally, Khoury spoke about each of the winning stories, reminding the audience how much effort was needed to become a professional writer. Everyone came out with something; the judges a trophy in reward for their efforts, and all participants got a certificate acknowledging their work.

Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad paid a visit to young volunteers working on the rehabilitation of Amrit, an ancient city near the coastal city of Tartous. A total of 200 volunteers from different Syrian universities had been working on Amrit for three consecutive days, pledging to restore ‘beauty to the neglected treasure.’

BMI, the second largest airline operating out of London’s Heathrow Airport, has announced its takeover of the Heathrow-based British Airways franchise airline British Mediterranean (BMED). BMI’s light network will now include 17 new destinations throughout Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.