FFA Private Bank and Ankura have entered into a teaming agreement to provide a suite of advisory and consulting services to the Lebanese market in response to the current financial crisis. FFA is one of the region’s leading investment banks with a deep understanding of the Lebanese financial sector. Ankura is a leading global business advisory firm specializing in Turnaround & Restructuring, M&A, Forensic Accounting, Due Diligence, and Regulatory Advisory capabilities.
This collaboration comes at an important time to provide critical expertise and resources that can help address and alleviate the challenges facing the financial services industry and more broadly impacting the Country’s economy. It is vital that financial institutions have access to expert resources that can help them develop and evaluate strategies designed to help them navigate the financial crisis. In such an environment, integrated turnaround plans, restructuring, valuations and due diligence are core skills essential to any serious effort to revitalize businesses by making informed decisions and realizing winning strategies.
Only a handful of global companies offer such a suite of services at the required level. The collaboration between FFA and Ankura will result in a comprehensive and best in class localized market offering across a comprehensive range of services. “Restructuring, turnaround, due diligence and forensic reviews services in the local market are foundational to support strategic repositioning of financial institutions in order to facilitate growth as part of a renewed and vibrant Lebanese economy,” indicated Jean Riachi, CEO of FFA. “The current crisis does not change the fact that while many Lebanese commercial banks and businesses still enjoy fundamental strengths, they will likely need to adapt to the new operating environment in order to renew with success. FFA’s independence and exclusive focus on advisory services, together with our alliance with Ankura, give us a unique positioning to cater to the turnaround needs.”
“Ankura is delighted to partner with FFA,” said Simon Michaels, Ankura Chairman of EMEA and APAC. “With offices in the Middle East, we are committed to the region and look forward to offering our extensive international capabilities to the Lebanese market.” With a consistent process-driven approach aimed to understand issues and stabilize, restructure and turnaround troubled institutions, Ankura’s highly skilled and tested experts bring insights and solutions to help solve complex problems in challenging situations, allowing for successful resolutions and creating value for stakeholders.
About FFA
Founded in 1994, FFA was granted a specialized banking license in 2007 by Banque du Liban. The Bank also operates from within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) through its subsidiary bank, FFA Private Bank (Dubai) Ltd. Today, FFA Group is one of the region’s leading banks specialized in Capital Markets, Wealth Management, Real Estate and Investment Banking. It has consolidated shareholders’ equity in excess of USD 45 million and over USD 1.5 billion in total assets under management.
About Ankura
Ankura is a global business advisory and expert services firm defined by HOW we solve challenges. Whether a client is facing an immediate business challenge, trying to increase the value of their company or protect against future risks, Ankura designs, develops, and executes tailored solutions by assembling the right combination of expertise. We help clients navigate a wide range of corporate performance and risk management challenges, including those pertaining to compliance, investigations, forensics, technology, turnaround and restructuring, and corporate strategy. We build on this experience with every case, client, and situation, collaborating to create innovative, customized solutions, and strategies designed for today’s ever-changing business environment. This gives our clients unparalleled insight and experience across a wide range of economic, governance, and regulatory challenges. At Ankura, we know that collaboration drives results. For more information, please visit: www.ankura.com.
