Lebanon’s Governor of Central Bank says foreign reserves are stable

Governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank Reyad Salama said that foreign exchange reserves are stable and do not require immediate reinforcement through intervention, saying that the Lebanese banks perform a major role to improve Lebanon’s economy during the coming period. He stressed that they work to extend the role of banks to outside the country.
He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, “Banks and financial institutions in Lebanon "has been able to achieve a high level of credibility, in terms of levels of liquidity and the standards of the sector that adhere to them at home and abroad.”
He continued that Lebanon built the banking model on the basis of the distinction between the work of commercial and investment banks without merging between the activities of the two institutions, saying that such approach helped them to keep the funds of depositors during crises. He added, “We also avoided being materials of speculations or investments that could be exposed to losses.”
He added that Lebanon has become one of the countries that have all the necessary laws to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as to combat tax evasion, as the laws have been passed and recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
 in an interview with Reuters published in February, the Central Bank governor said that Lebanon has met all the conditions set by FATF-GAFI (Financial Action Task Force) for fighting money laundering and was no longer subject to country follow-up.
FATF reported at a plenary meeting held in Paris in February that Lebanon has, legally and in practice, met all the required conditions to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to Salameh, the FATF statement, issued by its 199 member states, is a reassuring factor for Lebanon’s international banking and financial dealings, and for Lebanese banks’ customers, particularly the Lebanese diaspora, as it facilitates their incoming and outgoing transfers to and from Lebanon.