Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh confirmed his support for French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to conduct an audit of the bank by experts from the Bank of France.
In an interview with Arab News in its French version, he stressed that "the central bank cannot use the compulsory reserve to finance trade," considering that "once we reach that level of those reserves, we are obligated to stop providing financing."
Salameh emphasized that "the goal is for the depositors to recover their deposits, although this matter may take time", pointing out that we are "categorically against reducing the value of deposits."
The Institute of International Finance had expected Lebanon's economy, amounting to $ 52 billion, to shrink by 24 percent this year compared to its previous forecast, where it had expected a 15 percent contraction. This comes amid the exacerbation of the challenges facing the country, after the explosion of the Beirut port, the disaster that added to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, high inflation and the weakness of the Lebanese pound. According to the Institute of International Finance, the recent explosion highlighted the neglect and corruption of the ruling class.
Lebanon is seeking to obtain $ 10 billion from the International Monetary Fund, conditional on implementing real reforms. However, negotiations were stalled due to the divergence of views and the failure of the resigned Lebanese government to take any real reform measures.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net, Edited)
