Salameh Expresses Relief over Lebanon Banking, Financial Sectors
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon's banking and financial situation is “good.”
“Our currency is stable and we're witnessing growth in banks budgets and deposits,” Salameh told reporters at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport before heading to Geneva.
He pointed out that Lebanon is one of the country's that wasn't affected by the financial crises hitting the world since 2008.
Salameh headed to the Swiss capital to attend several seminars and business meetings.
Lebanon's ratio of debt to GDP is one of the highest in the world.
According to the IMF's latest estimate, debt stood at 134 percent of GDP last year, down from 137 percent in 2010 and 146 percent in 2009.
In October, the International Monetary Fund warned that the Lebanese economy is at risk from internal political uncertainty, spiraling violence in neighboring Syria and the Eurozone crisis.
However, the IMF said that GDP growth in Lebanon would recover slightly this year, with expansion of 3.5 percent.
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