A little look at the financial services jobs on offer in Lebanon

The father of Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, was an immigrant who fled violence in his native Lebanon for Mexico. In the 1970s, there was an exodus of bankers from Beirut amid the civil war in Lebanon. Today, the economic challenges coming from events in Syria mean Lebanon's banking sector is under close scrutiny again. In December, rating agency Moody’s downgraded the Lebanese banking sector’s credit outlook to ‘negative.’

Despite history and regional instability, there may be good reason to look to Lebanon for job opportunities. But be warned that for non-Lebanese, they are few and far between.

Antony Ussher, deputy general manager and head of electronic banking at Credit Libanais S.A.L in Beirut says: “From an expat point of view, Lebanon is a very well kept secret! It’s reputation as a lawless war zone is outdated and flat out wrong.  Economically, Lebanon continues to thrive through thick and thin. There are always any number of doom laden scenarios bandied about but Lebanon is adept at dodging and often profiting from them.”

But he adds: “Given the large numbers of well qualified Lebanese in most professions, there are limited opportunities for expatriates by comparison to most other Middle East countries.”

It doesn’t help that international client relationships count for little in Lebanon.

SMEs contribute a massive 99% of GDP in Lebanon– compared to 67% in the European Union, according to research from Standard Chartered.

According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon, the country offers a mix of small, medium and large private owned commercial banks, medium and long-term credit and investment banks, Islamic banks as well as foreign and “mixed” banks. It points out that women make up 45% of total bank employees across all levels and 70% of employees are university graduates.

Rumours persist that Syrian money is pouring into Lebanese banks, which already have a great deal of money from the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) states. Industry observers say the banks, which are mostly family-owned, are taking measures beyond those asked for by international regulators. This is leading to growth in jobs in risk management and compliance.

Project finance jobs are currently available for CFAs with English and Arabic language skills, and French is a bonus. A leading international bank was recently looking for an “experienced banker to join the team in Beirut as deputy head group syndication and project finance". Deloitte, one of the Big Four professional services firms with a clearly stated commitment to the region, is looking for audit interns.

But one expat working in financial services says that apart from a “handful” of expats in Beirut there are “almost no opportunities in financial services for expats.” “As everything is almost all family-owned and managed they think they (quite rightly) have what they need at lower costs, and there is little desire to bring in anyone outside la famille,” he says.