Salameh from Washington: Lebanon’s Banking Sector Not Targeted by U.S.

Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh has said U.S. officials confirmed to him that no other Lebanese bank would be targeted by the Treasury Department.

Salameh, who is currently in Washington, told Marcel Ghanem’s Kalam al-Nass talk show on Thursday that the U.S. “isn’t targeting Lebanon’s banking sector.”

No other Lebanese bank would be targeted the same way the Lebanese Canadian Bank was designated by the Treasury Department as a primary money laundering concern.

Earlier this month, Salameh said the Lebanese Canadian Bank has the absolute support of the Central Bank.

The BLC was Lebanon's 9th largest by the end of 2009 with assets worth $5 billion. Its deposits stood at $4.4 billion by the end of 2009 while its profit that year reached $35 million.