The Governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, said that credit increased by 20 percent during 2010, representing the highest lending growth in the Middle East, compared to an average lending growth across the region of four percent.

Salameh attributed the growth in lending to the incentives by the Central Bank and to relaxing its restrictions regarding mandatory reserve requirements, which encouraged banks to extend more loans to the private sector. Most such loans went to finance the purchases of houses. Salameh maintained that the increase in lending was the main driver of economic growth in 2010, and promised to maintain the current policy as long as inflation remains manageable.

 Salameh said that he expected real growth in 2010 to be 7.5 percent, despite the reversal in indicators during the last quarter of the year. He declined to offer an estimate regarding the real growth of the economy during 2011 due to the political uncertainties that grip the country.

 Salameh said that there will be no change in the current exchange rate policy of the Lebanese pound to the US dollar unless the depositors decide to switch their funds to another currency. A change in the current exchange rate policy will bring about confusion in prices and speculation. He said that the Central Bank is able to maintain the existing exchange rate thanks to the high level of foreign currency reserves it maintains, which reached $36.8 billion.