Libya’s largest bank delayed posting its results for the final quarter of 2013 due to “communication problems caused by recent events.”

The Libyan Stock Market (LSM), which operates the Tripoli bourse, said it made a loss in the last quarter of 2013.

The insurer said its net profits dropped by 27% year-on-year in the final quarter of 2013.

The insurer says it appointed a new chief executive last month.

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) says it will begin issuing “preliminary approval” for Islamic banks in the country, which are intended to replace traditional banks by early 2015.

Pre-tax profits at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), Libya's second-biggest lender, fell by 24% year-on-year.

Net profits at one of Libya's smaller lenders dropped by 4.3% last year.

Net profits at Libya's fourth-largest lender dropped last year, although its total assets appeared to rise strongly.

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, has sued the US-based investment firm in London over losses incurred in 2007-8.

Provisional figures from the Bank of Commerce and Development (BCD), Libya's largest private-sector lender, show profits of LD40m ($32m), more than double 2012 levels.

The country's biggest insurer says its provisional 2013 revenues were slightly higher than in 2012, with costs falling by around 8% year-on-year.

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has denied reports that its former governor, Farhat Bengdara, said the country was on the verge of bankruptcy, saying the original report is fabricated.

The state-owned bank, which handles Libya's oil revenues and whose assets are concentrated outside the country, has announced headline figures for the 2013 financial year.

Several banks in the city say they are running short of cash, with reports that customers held protest outside branches on 6 January.

Libya's embryonic stock market continued to see threadbare trading in 2013, with its main index falling 18% and several banking stocks losing more than a third of their value.