The Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) has stepped out of the shadows with strong profits, a stronger, greater deposit base, and a solid equity base for the period ended December 31, 2025.
Submitting the Annual Report to the Annual General Meeting (SAGM) of the bank’s shareholders, the bank’s President & Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Christian Allison, told the shareholders that “the bank has reached a decisive turning point” and that the “Turnaround is real”. He reported that the bank reversed its trajectory from a net loss of L$208 million to L$43 million in 2025, a jump of L$251 million or 121% over 2024. This broad jump in income was driven by a strong improvement in asset quality, lifted by a 49% reduction in impairment charges (loan write-offs) from L$43.5 billion to L$1.79 billion. Mr. Allison attributed the massive improvement in the bank to functioning governance and a strong commitment of core, disciplined, and experienced banking professionals and support staff.
He expressed profound thanks and appreciation to the Board of Directors, chaired by the Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, for the strong support of management. Mr. Allison took special time off to thank the Government of Liberia for its solid support towards the bank over the years. The CEO made special reference to the government’s additional equity support of L$3.8 billion during the year under review.
He concluded by saying that the implementation of this plan has had a tangible, positive impact on LBDI’s asset quality, liquidity, and partners’ confidence in the integrity of its balance sheet.
Other landmark total assets increased by 38.2% from L$18.6 billion in 2024 to L$25.7 billion in 2025. The jump in assets was driven by strong liquidity (cash holdings) and a big increase in customers’ deposits, which rose from L$16.9 billion in 2024 to L$21.6 billion in 2025.
Beyond these accomplishments, the bank says that it is determined to accelerate credit normalization, build sustainable earnings, improve the loan performance, deepen deposit mobilization, and reinforce institutional governance.
Despite the positive results for the year ended 2025, the bank, like many banks in the country, remains challenged by poor-performing loans, due to the increasingly difficult operating environment, most of which is markedly caused by external or adverse developments in the global economy. The bank was founded in 1961 as the Liberian Bank for Industrial Development and Investment to finance industrial growth and capital formation.
Following four years of preparation, the bank began operations in 1965. The bank was renamed in 1974 as the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) and expanded its mandate to the financing of agriculture and the broader national development.
In 1988, the Legislature amended the Act of the bank and authorized it to operate also as a commercial bank while retaining its original mandate of financing development.
Despite the civil war, which saw the closure of almost 80 percent of Liberian banks, the LBDI remained actively strong and served as the anchor for helping businesses improve their activities in the broader economy.
The bank operates a total of fifteen branches in the country, seven in Monrovia and one each in Buchanan, Ganta, Gbai, Gbarnga, Kakata, Ganta, Yekepa and Zwedru. The Liberia Bank for Development & Investment has been one of the principal sources of trained manpower and top managers of the Liberian economy.
The bank has produced Directors, Ministers, and other Cabinet Ministers, and other top-notch professionals both at home and abroad. Prominent among these are, Mr. Elie Saleeby, who served as President of the bank and went on to become the World Bank Representative in Ghana, and later Minister of Finance of Liberia and the first Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia. Others are Mr. David K. Vinton, former Governor of the National Bank of Liberia, the precursor to the Central Bank of Liberia.
