Central Bank of Libya
The Sahara Bank was established in 1964, designed by Italian Vincenzo Maria Morici. On 22 December 1970, a law was passed that demanded that all the foreign banks shares be nationalized and became completely owned by Libya. The law remained in force till 1933 till when private ownership of banks in the country was not permitted. As of 1991, the principal share holder was Central Bank of Libya with 82 per cent and Libyan Interests with the rest of 18 per cent. The bank had 751 employees in its roles. The head office of the bank was located in Libya's capital, Tripoli. The bank was counted as one of the ten major banks under the control of Central Bank of Libya. In July 2007, France's BNP Paribas acquired 19 per cent share of the Sahara bank. It also became the major shareholder and took over the operations. BNP pulled out of the operations of the bank in 2011, following revolutions in Libya.