On 23 October 2020, BLOM Bank SAL announced that it has applied for the withdrawal of its Global Depositary Shares (the “GDSs”) (ISIN: US0936881095; trading symbol: BLOBK) from trading on the EUROMTF and the Official List of Luxembourg Stock Exchange, as well as for the withdrawal of its GDSs (ISIN: US0936881095; trading symbol: BLBD) from trading on the International Order Book of the London Stock Exchange, with a proposed effect from 24 November 2020.
In fact, the ongoing economic challenges in Lebanon exerted pressure on the whole banking system, making it prohibitive to maintain the listing of the issuer’s GDSs in Luxembourg, as well as on the International Order Book(LSE). It is important to mention, that prior to this decision, the traded GDSs witnessed low volumes and limited liquidity this year in addition to the administrative costs burden which overweigh the GDSs’ benefits to the Bank.
Moreover, the GDSs and its underlying shares will continue to trade on the Beirut Stock Exchange. Noting that the Global Depository receipt programme (GDR) will continue to operate and all GDSs will remain outstanding.
It is worth mentioning that BLOM Bank issued 4.39M as Global Depository Receipt in year 1998. In addition, BLOM issued 3M new Global Depository Shares and were listed on the Luxembourg and Beirut Stock Exchanges in February 2006. In 2010, BLOM Bank executed a share split of 1/10 for a total of 73.9M GDRs, 34.37% of Total Common Shares.
BLOM Bank GDR Prices on LSE
BLOM Bank SAL – Financials | ||
| (in USD millions) | June 30, 2020 | December 31, 2019 |
| Total Assets | 31,414 | 33,295 |
| Total Deposits | 23,773 | 26,084 |
| Net Profit | 38 | 115 |