Lebanon’s Joseph Torbey was named the Arab Banker of the year 2019 by the Union of Arab Banks (UAB). It is the highest award offered annually by the UAB to the most distinguished Arab bankers.
UAB is a regional organisation that comprises more than 320 Arab financial and banking institutions.
Torbey is currently chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, the World Union of Arab Bankers since 2006, and Lebanese commercial bank Credit Libanais.
After graduating from university, Torbey held numerous public functions, including Controller at the Lebanese Audit Court and the Ministry of Finance, where he headed the Income Tax Department. He served for two consecutive terms as the chairman of the UAB from April 2001 until May 2007. However, Torbey’s involvement in the Union dates back to 1995, when he served as vice chairman until 2001.
Torbey also serves as chairman of the Executive Committee of the UAB. He is the co-founder and first chairman of the Institut Supérieur d’Études Bancaires (ISEB) at St Joseph University (Beirut). He has been member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (Jordan) since 2001. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Vienna.
The prominent Lebanese banker has a number of publications in taxation, economics and banking.
