The Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, explained that “Lebanon has the ability to stay on the subsidy for a period of two months,” stressing that “deposits of the Lebanese do exist, and the evidence is that no bank has declared its bankruptcy,” pointing out that “deposits are in banks and not in the Central Bank, and they manage the risks, we only set policies."
He said, "We have to secure liquidity when banks need to protect depositors’ money. Every month, there are at least $600 million withdrawn to meet the needs of the Lebanese."
Salameh stressed that “the Central Bank funds the state if it lacks funding according to the law, and the deficit in the state’s budget does not belong to the Banque du Liban, which has no accounts except for banks,” revealing that until the end of September 2020, the Banque du Liban has returned the dollar to banks, and all countries of the world are putting an end to cash withdrawals, pointing out that "the central bank will own the shares of banks that are not committed to increasing the capital."
Salameh asserted that "the Ministry of Finance is authorized to contract with auditing companies, and handing over bank accounts to auditing requires changing the law," noting that "Banque du Liban will commit to handing over state accounts to the Ministry of Finance in preparation for criminal audit," explaining that "Banque du Liban with the illegitimate audit and we have handed over our accounts, and the bank has done everything necessary to remain involved in financial globalization."
Source (Al-Arabiya.net, Edited)
