Governor, Central Bank Riad Salameh of Lebanon

Salameh: stable monetary situation may lead to lower interest in 2009", "Central bank boss indicates increased confidence in Lebanese Pound Daily Star staff Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - Powered by BEIRUT: Central bank Governor Riad Salameh said Tuesday that interest rates in Lebanon may fall in 2009 if the monetary situation is more relaxed.

Salameh said that although the reaction in the exchange market had been "moderate," it was largely stable because negative expectations had already been factored in for a country paralyzed by political crisis for 18 months.

But Salameh said the government would wait for a "better environment" to refinance US$870 million debt matures in August.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has been widely credited with steering a prudent monetary course during his 13 years in office, a period that has seen growth stagnation, revolution, war and political uncertainty.

The issues that sometimes arise in the face of normal banking are addressed through the relevant judicial authorities, and therefore do not require all this uproar,” Salameh said in a statement, commenting on newspaper reports that Israeli-Americans had filed lawsuits against six Lebanese banks in Manhattan on allegations that they had opened accounts to finance Hezbollah activities.

Mr Salameh says that in Lebanon's high risk political environment he did not have much choice.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said that the country would look to the European Investment Bank and Opec for funding.

Inflation in Lebanon ran at 10% year-on-year in March, driven by the higher price of oil and food and a weaker dollar, central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday.

Salameh said a political crisis and security concerns in Lebanon meant it was not possible to confront this wave of inflation.

Salameh said interest rates should remain stable in 2008.

Salameh said he expected the government to seek parliamentary approval to issue new Eurobonds to meet financing needs including the costs of servicing foreign currency debt and supporting a state-owned power firm.

Salameh said the Arab countries should learn lessons from the crisis around the world.

BEIRUT: Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh received on Tuesday the "Best Achievement" award in Washington from the Arab Bankers Association of North America, one year after being named the world's best Central Bank governor by Euromoney magazine.

Riad Salameh has been governor of Lebanon's central bank, Banque du Liban, since 1993.

For his part, Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said that the monetary situation in the country is stable.

Beirut: Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Thursday the economy should grow more than the 3 per cent predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year thanks to an agreement ending the country's deep political crisis.

Despite the international economic crisis and the problems banks are facing worldwide, the Lebanese banking sector has shown growth in 2008 as their profits are expected to rise by 10 percent compared to 2007, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said Wednesday.

The liquidity is high in our system," Salameh said in an interview conducted in English with The Associated Press.

Salameh said the Central Bank has, for years, regulated structured products and derivatives, and has forbidden the acquisition of subprime mortgage debt, which triggered the current global crisis.

Salameh said private banks' assets currently top $100 billion, or nearly four times the country's gross domestic product.

But despite the persistant tug of war between pro- and anti-Syrian forces, the pressures for Syria to comply with Resolution 1559 and parliamentary elections set for the spring, Salameh is still confident of a five percent GDP growth figure this year.

PARIS — The Lebanese pound will stay stable in the coming months because it is backed by large foreign exchange reserves, the country's central bank governor Riad Salameh said yesterday.

The Lebanese pound will stay stable and this position is based on the possibility in terms of reserves which are historically large," central banker Salameh said in an interview in French after a speech in Paris.

Salameh said he hoped the country would be able to reduce this but it would depend on the pace of economic growth and the political situation as well as proceeds from privatisation.

The central bank has not yet made a forecast for 2008 but Salameh said the IMF was looking for growth of around 5 per cent depending on the political situation.

Salameh was also upbeat about the future of the economy.

T-bills into dollar-denominated eurobonds will not increase the current debt.

But Salameh said the swap will not be a regular exercise for the Central Bank.

he expected interest on deposits would drop with the cash inflow.

II donor conference last year, which earned Lebanon a $4.

state assets for eventual privatisation.

soothing the markets he is courting.

In a country where civil service appointments privilege political affiliation over competence, Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is a striking exception.

Despite Lebanon's long-running political-and-economic crises on top of the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006, new buildings are shooting up on the capital's skyline even if sale volumes have fallen.

Arab investors are interested in transferring deposits to Lebanon due to strained US relations with some Arab countries following the September 11 terror attacks, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh was quoted by a newspaper Thursday as saying.

Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh said on April 22 that the bank was prepared to maintain fiscal stability amid fears of potential disturbances in the southern part of the country in July, when Israel withdraws its troops.

Studies show that the rise of inflation to seven percent is due to the war, Riad Salameh said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has said he will not shy away from the post of president if rival factions agree to it.

Salameh is credited with maintaining a safe monetary policy, building up foreign currency reserves and stabilizing the Lebanese lira in the face of political assassinations and in the aftermath of the Zionist regime's war on Lebanon.

var RTR_ArticleBlurb = "By Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said he was ready to become president if rival factions agreed to it and warned that continuing political crisis was strangling Lebanon's economic growth.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said he was ready to become president if rival factions agreed to it and warned that continuing political crisis was strangling Lebanon's economic growth.

Although Salameh says he is not campaigning for the presidency, he is seen as a leading contender and someone who could be acceptable to sides whose power struggle has paralyzed government and sparked deadly violence.

Salameh said leaving the presidency vacant would create more political instability, but he did not foresee Lebanon descending into armed conflict, as some believe it could.

The markets are optimistic as to the future," Salameh said in an interview at his Beirut office.

Central bank governor Riad Salameh has won a Euromoney award for his management of the crisis during Israels recent onslaught, the US finance magazine said Monday.

Beirut- Lebanon' s Central bank governor Riad Salameh has won a Euromoney award for his management of the crisis during Israel's recent onslaught, the US finance magazine said Monday.

Salameh received the 2006 prize of the world's best central bank governor at a ceremony in Singapore, on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, it said in a statement.

Prior to this award Riad Salameh was named three times in a row as the best Central Bank governor in the Middle east.