Saudi lender National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced plans to close two branches in Lebanon owing to poor financial returns.

Both the branches are located in Bahrain’s capital city Beirut. The bank has already secured the go-ahead from the Bank of Lebanon for the move.

“We would like to draw the attention of our shareholders that these branches formed part of the NCB International Banking Segment and their closure will have no financial impact on NCB’s current financial statements,” the bank said in a statement.

The move comes as Lebanon’s economy struggles due to political tensions in the country as well as the civil war in neighbouring Syria.