the project "Bank Al-Ahli Al-Mahjar", which never took shape but whose purpose was to link the capitals of the diaspora to those of the motherland. Following the same principle, the BLOM Bank (Banque du Liban et d’Outre-Mer) was created a year later in 1951. The Sheikh was one of its founders, also serving as its vice-president. BLOM Bank remains one of the leading banks in Lebanon. He was also one of the founders of Al-Madina Bank, established in 1982. He was a shareholder in the Bank of Industry and Labor and invested momentarily funds in Al-Mahjar Bank and Bank of the Mediterranean (Banque de la Méditerranée) in the 1980s. The success of BLOM attracted Arab and foreign capital to the institution. In May 1960, Khoury secured a US$5 million loan for the BCAIF, largely through his personal negotiations with Hart Perry, director of the American Bank Institution known as the Credit Fund. Also through the BCAIF, he led similar negotiations on behalf of the Lebanese government to obtain a US wheat loan in 1964, efforts which resulted in the agreement of a $17 million deal in July 1966. The Sheikh also maintained relations with leading personalities in the international banking community, including David Rockefeller, adviser to the World Bank. In his capacity as chairman of the BCAIF's board of directors, Khoury also worked closely with the Lebanese government in efforts to alleviate problems in the banking sector. In 1964, he chaired the banking consortium that regulated the resolution of the "Land Bank" crisis. He was also involved in the 1966 project to establish a Development Bank, for the financing of industrial and tourism projects. Additionally, he was a key figure in the resolution of the "Intra-banking crisis" of 1968, during which Lebanon's central bank, the Banque du Liban (BDL), asked the BCAIF to handle the management and liquidation of 10 banks in distress. Contribution to social dialogue Khoury's role in the Lebanese business world gave him a decisive voice in the dialogue that emerged between trade unionists and managers in the second half of the 1960s. As a representative of the industrialists, he was commonly invited by the ruling class to participate in the settlement of social crises. While usually chosen to represent the employers in these discussions, Khoury often adopted a conciliatory position, reflecting his role as a mediator in both politics and business. On the question of wage