Professor Hicham Safieddine [afikra Conversations]
In conversation with Professor Hicham Safieddine, we get to grips with Lebanon’s banking system. He walks us through the history of central banks, who Lebanon’s Barons of Banking were, and how Lebanon’s banking sector got to where it is today. We reflect on Beirut’s economy and banking system from the 1800s to the present day, taking into account the Ottoman Imperial Bank, Banque de Syrie et du Liban, Banque du Liban and the Intra-affair. Finally, we discuss the current state of affairs and if change is on the horizon.
Hicham Safieddine is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the History of the Modern Middle East at the University of British Columbia. His research mostly focuses on the 19th and 20th century financial, economic and intellectual history of the MENA region. Safieddine is currently examining the emergence and transformation of global and national monetary regimes and financial systems under capitalist expansion, debt, war, colonial conquest, national liberation and revolution. Outside of his academic work, Hicham is the co-founder of e-zines Al-Akhbar English and The Legal Agenda’s English Edition.
About Conversations
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
