Banks committed to transparency

Lebanese banks will not take any action that could expose correspondent banks in view of sanctions on Syria

The governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, said that the banking sector will abide by the global transparency standards when it comes to financial transactions, in light of the economic sanctions against turmoil-stricken Syria.
Salameh stated that Lebanese banks, both at home and abroad, “will not take any action that could expose any of our correspondent banks or put them in a position whereby they have breached regulations in their countries.”
He also reassured that the Central Bank will investigate all complaints of breaches and that it will not hesitate in taking any necessary measures.
The US and the European Union have imposed an array of economic sanctions on Syria since the eruption of violence in Damascus. These sanctions prohibit companies and individuals in these countries from doing business with Syrian firms or individuals. The sanctions also force a freeze on Syrian assets in these countries and banned importation of Syrian oil and gas. The most recent of these sanctions was put in place on January 23, when the EU blacklisted five banks in Syria.
Pressure has recently mounted on local financial institutions to abide by the sanctions.
Any resolutions issued by the Security Council (under chapter 7) are binding for all countries. However, this is not the case with regulations, or sanctions, issued by individual countries.
Salameh said that the repercussions of speculations that have linked the Lebanon’s banking sector to its trouble-swept neighbor have taken their toll on the growth of the sector.
"The deposits’ growth in 2011 dropped due to the tough political situation and the rumors targeting its banking sector, in addition to revolutions and tensions across the region,” he said.
A number of foreign media reports have claimed that Syrian cash has been infiltrated into banks in Lebanon, speculations which were publicly denied by high-ranking Lebanese banking officials.