Commercial Bank of Syria

In 1966, the state achieved complete ownership of commercial banking in Syria by merging all existing commercial banks into a single consolidated Commercial Bank of Syria. In 1974, the Commercial Bank incorporated in Lebanon the Syrian-Lebanese Commercial Bank, in which it owns 85%. Until the 2010s, the Commercial Bank was the only bank in Syria allowed to deal with foreign currency, and allowed and able to finance foreign trade.

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, in August 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S Department of the Treasury designated the bank as Specially Designated Nationals. OFAC designated the bank and its Lebanese subsidiary under the authority of Executive Order 13382 (signed on June 29, 2005), which is aimed at "disrupting the activities of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their sources of support".{{cite web |url=http://www.steptoe.com/publications-newsletter-263.html |title=OFAC Names the Commercial Bank of Syria, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank and Syriatel as Specially Designated Nationals; Additional Sanctions Against Syria Expected, Stepote&Johnson |publisher=Steptoe.com |date= |accessdate=2013-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055555/http://www.steptoe.com/publications-newsletter-263.html |archive-date=2013-09-21 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=299363 |title=US slaps sanctions on Syria's largest commercial bank, Now Lebanon, August 10, 2011 |publisher=Nowlebanon.com |date= |accessdate=2013-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830053030/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=299363 |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }} It banned U.S. banks and their overseas subsidiaries from maintaining a correspondent account with the Commercial Bank of Syria and required them to conduct due diligence that ensured that the Commercial Bank of Syria was not circumventing sanctions through their business dealings with them.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/789991022 |title=Global stability and U.S. national security |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Kristen Boon, Aziz Z. Huq, Douglas C., Jr. Lovelace |isbn=978-0-19-991589-7 |location=New York, N.Y. |pages=466 |oclc=789991022}} The European Union also imposed sanctions on the bank in October 2011 with its assets frozen.{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/24083/Business/Economy/EU-adds-Commercial-Bank-of-Syria-to-sanctions-list.aspx |title=EU adds Commercial Bank of Syria to sanctions list, Ahram Online |publisher=English.ahram.org.eg |date=2011-10-13 |accessdate=2013-02-04}}

• Banque de Syrie et du Liban

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• {{Official website|http://www.cbs-bank.com/ }} {{in lang|ar|en}}

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Category:Banks of Syria

Category:Banks established in 1967

Category:Government-owned companies of Syria

Category:Companies based in Damascus

Category:1967 establishments in Syria

Category:Syrian brands

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