Transfers of funds abroad were insignificant today while conversions of the lira to foreign currencies almost came to a halt, said. Marwan Barakat, the Head of Research at Bank Audi. “The market is reassured by the strong defenses of the Central Bank,” he said. The resilient position of the Central Bank is due mainly to substantial foreign assets that it has, which total $ 31 billion. Such assets represent 78 percent of deposits and cash in the lira, said Barakat. “Compare this with the foreign assets that were available during the 2006 war, which stood at almost a third of their current level,” he said. The strong position of the Central Bank is well perceived by the market, said Nader Sahyouni, the Head of Foreign Exchange and Money Market at Bank Byblos. He said that “conversions last week were between moderate and large. They eased yesterday. But today, the attitude of apprehension gave way to one of guarded confidence as the dominant mood became to give a chance to the formation of a new government,” he said.