The essential view Executive sat down with Riad Salameh, the governer of Banque du Liban (BDL) to discuss the prospects for the country’s GDP, the role of the central bank, and the external and internal challenges that lie ahead. E Thank you for sitting down with Executive at this crucial time for Lebanon. I understand that you…… Read More
The noose around lebanon Over 300 days have passed since Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister, stood on the White House lawn next to Donald Trump as the US President promised an answer to the “menace” of Hezbollah within 24 hours. That answer did not materialize in the form of a comprehensive foreign policy or as diplomatic niceties, at least…… Read More
IT in banking Some business success stories surprise like new gourmet recipes. It occasionally happens that culinary innovations start with ingredients which by and in themselves do not appeal to everyone as superb delights for the senses—for example liverwurst and artichokes, or Brussels sprouts and tofu—but make a winning dish when combined. Likewise, hardcore banking and software development…… Read More
The breakdown It has been one of the most reassuring factors in the Lebanese economy—some might be inclined to say nearly the only one—that local banks maintained their strong financial standings during the past years and have been perfectly assuming their role in financing the economy. Beyond their financial performance, which is highlighted in the analysis below,…… Read More
Strongest linkage or missing links? The list of infrastructure needs is long, yet the wish list of these projects for Lebanon is still very rough, and as Executive noted last month, looks methodologically as messy as a disorganized teenager’s room waiting for an encounter with neatness. As the projects in the vast national infrastructure file may contain some old and…… Read More
News on the house of Saradar Over the past three to four years, Saradar Bank was being developed as a universal bank with a full range of services in corporate, private, and retail banking. The process was aimed at engineering one differentiated banking entity out of two smaller banks, Near East Commercial Bank and Banque de l’Industrie et du Travail. Although,…… Read More
Buoyed by banks The relationship between the Lebanese economy and its banks is not quite as simple as the numbers suggest. Banking aggregates are improving every year. But the economy in Lebanon cannot be assumed to be sturdy just because the banking sector is jogging on and on. There are far too many risks and alarm signals on…… Read More
A window of opportunity Executive met with Christina Lassen, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, to discuss the challenges Lebanon is facing, what to expect from the upcoming CEDRE investment conference and Brussels II refugee aid conference, and the outcomes of last month’s Rome security conference. E It is an interesting time for Lebanon,…… Read More
Let the sunshine in Anyone who has lived or spent time in Lebanon is aware of the chronic gaps in the electric grid, which have resulted in regularly scheduled power cuts of three hours a day in Beirut and as much as 12 hours a day outside the capital. The government has persistently pursued stopgap measures, such as renting…… Read More
What’s in the Capital Investment Plan? Judging a book by its cover may no longer be common lingo in the digital age, but it seems to be exactly what Lebanon is hoping people will do ahead of the CEDRE investment conference scheduled for early April in Paris: Never mind the details; be impressed by the dazzling overall figures and exciting projects.…… Read More