The Lebanese Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni stated: "we are ready to meet the request of the International Monetary Fund to float the exchange rate of the lira, but after Lebanon receives the needed external support, that a flexible exchange rate is adopted in the next stage," noting that "the IMF always demands the liberalization of the exchange rate of the lira. They want to unify the exchange rates and flotation, but the Lebanese government requested a transitional phase that passes the flexible exchange rate before we reach the flotation. "
Wazni, in an interview with "Agence France Presse," confirmed that "we have to adjust the stabilization policy to the flexible exchange rate policy in the first stage and for the foreseeable future, and when we receive financial support from abroad we move to floatation," revealing that "the government wants to reduce the number of commercial banks which are about 49 to the half, as part of a reform plan that includes restructuring the banking sector.
He explained that "the structuring of the banks will be step by step and there are several options for treatment, including emerging, which is normal." He pointed out that "in Lebanon, there are 49 commercial banks, and it is normal for the number to drop to about half in the next stage."
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Edited)
