United World: Could you please give us a brief history of this new bank?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: Previously, Libya used to only allow government banks, until Law Number I permitted private banks to be established. We gathered private businessmen and companies to create this bank, which now belongs to 156 businessmen from different sectors. The law was modified this year and it now states that each partner can have up to 4% of the capital shares, up from 1%. Therefore, whereas you were previously required to have at least 100 shareholders to create a bank, today it is down to 25 shareholders. The modification of this new law was a positive move, and the Central Bank of Libya maintains tight regulations regarding capital and the legal reserve. We also have to give full information regarding our accounts and balances on a daily basis to the Central Bank to avoid any risks. There is a limit on the percentage of loans, which we are not allowed to exceed. We are obliged to have a risk management department to avoid any pitfalls, and a legal compliance department. All our activities are reported daily, and the Central Bank keeps 15% of our deposit. If we delay in providing these reports for more than three days, there is a penalty fine ranging from LYD1,000 to LYD100,000. Furthermore, people on the board of directors have to be highly qualified; we are required to get the approval of our nominees for these positions from the Governor of the Central Bank. He needs to either approve or reject a nomination within a month, otherwise the candidate is automatically approved. We have to accept deposits, we have to give loans, discount bills, collect cheques, and issue LC's and bills for collection as well as foreign and local letters of guarantees. We have to create work towards modern services like ATM machines, Moneygram (for wire transfers) and travellers' cheques, as well as internet banking. We also have to provide mortgages and safe boxes, and provide our clients with appropriate advice.

As you can see, there are many regulations and their main purpose is to raise banking standards in the country and eliminate small players and inefficiency to create an environment where if you are able to comply and conform, then you are worthy of establishing a presence in the market. We are also allowed to have foreign shareholders. The law is that any bank can come into Libya and open a branch, as well as become shareholders in existing banks. This law obliges all banks to have a strong financial position; it makes it impossible for any new bank to become bankrupt due to the stringent regulations in place and the persistent scrutiny of the Central Bank of our activities. Pursuant to the new banking Law I, the Central Bank of Libya prepared all commercial banks to comply with the new law and the prerequisites of Basel II. This is for the benefit of the banking industry in Libya and for service improvement to the level prevailing in the developed world.

United World: Could you tell us what initially inspired you to open AMAN Bank?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: After having studied all the new regulations and compared them with those that were prevailing previously, we found them supporting and encouraging private banks to emerge in a very sound environment. This is why we were excited when Libya started moving towards privatization. I had a lot of friends who were retired from banking and always dreamt of bringing things like MasterCard into Libya. This is what we're doing, realizing our dreams; we brought in MasterCard and MoneyGram. There are also rules governing the opening of any foreign banks in Libya. The head office of any foreign bank that wants to open a branch here has to have a specific nationality and be regulated by its country. The initial capital cannot be less than $50 million.
Today, we do more than a hundred transfers a day through our nine branches of MoneyGram. We provide a complete banking service with the help of the experienced young people working with us, using the latest technology to guarantee the best services possible. We will be activating MasterCard on 1st December, with whom we have principal membership.

United World: How is AMAN Bank positioning itself in the Libyan market, in order to retain a competitive edge to future banks that may be established in the country?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: Primarily, we follow all the rules and regulations to avoid any mistakes, this is an important factor. We also do our best to attract experts in the field to work for us and provide the best services. We try to import the latest technology in modern banking and other services such as the ones I mentioned before, like MasterCard and MoneyGram. All these factors will continue to make us one of the best banks in the country.

United World: What sets you apart from other banks for foreign investors for example, who are looking for a strong, financially sound banking partner?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: They can open an account with us and we can facilitate services for them, providing them with help through our customer service unit, which can help them register in the country. We can give them a translator; we have people working for us that are fluent in English, French and Italian for example. In addition to all the services that most banking institutions offer, we try to focus, more than anyone else, on technology and our administration is more than willing to consider all the new technology available in this field. Ninety per cent of our employees use the keyboard as opposed to the pen, and I think that this focus on technology helps set us apart from many other banks in Libya, as it is becoming an increasingly competitive market.

United World: What are your plans when it comes to partnership with foreign banks?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: We are looking for foreign partners. I hope that with the progression of new laws governing this sector, we will soon be able to have foreign partners, but this will take some time.

United World: What other plans does the bank have for the future?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: We are going to start issuing customer-consumer loans in the future and we will transfer our MasterCard services from debit to credit card. As soon as the national payment plan is implemented in the country, we will connect to it. There are also stringent rules that we follow concerning the avoidance of money laundering. The law has obliged all the banks to increase their capital to LYD 33,333,000 by the end of 2011. The previous law only required 3 million as capital.

United World: Do you feel it will be easier for you to establish a correspondence with American Banks in the near future?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: Honestly speaking, we are not used to the American market and we know very little about it because of the twenty-year absence. We have established new relationships with some American Banks of course, as well as others in Europe. We hope to have a good relationship with them in the future but so far there has been very little activity by American businesses here.

United World: What would you say is your main message to our readers?

Mr. Moktar Eshili: Libya is virgin territory for all types of businesses, particularly the tourism sector. It just needs people to develop it; it needs capital and management. We are hopeful for the future

United World: Thank you very much for your comments.

Mr. Moktar Eshilik: Thank you.