Cedrus Invest Bank of Lebanon is close to acquiring Standard Chartered Bank in the country. The two sides are said to be at the final stages of negotiations. According to sources, the deal was worth around $23 million. According to them, First National Bank had not dropped from the race yet but noted that its chances of acquiring the bank were not very strong. Cedrus will probably keep most of the 100 employees of StanChart in the country. It is investigating whether StanChart owed any dues to the government by way of taxes. Standard Chartered has decided to sell its retail operations in Lebanon and only retain a representative office in Beirut. The bank, which has three branches, saw its deposits shrink in 2012 and 2013 and most analysts attribute this fall to fierce competition from well-established banks.
