Acting Governor of the Central Bank Wassim Mansouri for Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed: The IMF is open to Lebanon’s help

The Acting Governor of Lebanon, Wassim Mansouri, revealed to Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed that the meeting that was held today, Wednesday, with the delegation of the International Monetary Fund was positive, indicating that Lebanon is seeking to negotiate with the fund to develop a program that preserves the money of depositors and state rights, and considering that it is possible to reach good results from these negotiations.

Mansouri said, in a comprehensive dialogue with “Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed”, which is published tomorrow, Thursday, that the IMF is open to help Lebanon, and that the international community is waiting for Lebanon to implement reforms to start the course of aid. He stressed that the current government, through its harmonious ministerial statement with the speech of the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, has developed the general points of reform, which are fixed and firm, and their implementation remains, indicating that some of the results began to emerge.

He added that the Lebanese government held one meeting until now, but it is believed that other meetings will be dating, and the results will be good, and among these results will be stolen by some basic appointments in the cabinet session tomorrow, Thursday, with other appointments to be completed in subsequent sessions, including the appointment of a new ruler to the Bank of Lebanon.

Mansouri pointed out that the reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund are known, most notably those related to the money of depositors, the approval of the laws of restructuring banking, the promotion of banking transparency, and the restructuring of the public sector. He pointed out that there is a large palaces in public administrations, and the current ministers touched this when they receive their ministerial bags, and they are currently working to repair what can be repaired properly. He added that there are many laws whose decrees have not been issued yet, and the government is on the immediate issuance of them, stressing that the implementation of these reforms at various levels will reinforce the position of Lebanon in negotiating with the fund, as the more reforms, the better the possibility of Lebanon benefiting from the fund program.

Regarding the restoration of confidence to the banking sector, Mansouri explained that there are four columns that can be built on the state, the first of which is accountability, which must take place through the judiciary and within the legal principles, with the need to fortify the judiciary and support its independence. As for the second column, it is the return of the depositors’ money, as it is not possible to restore confidence in the banking sector without it. The third is the reform of the banking sector, because the economy cannot work without a strong banking sector. Finally, the fourth column is to reform the state and its structure in various ministries. Mansouri added that talking about accounting is heard by everyone, but he does not see an actual application for it, explaining that the main reason is that everyone wants to be held accountable, while accounting must take place through the judiciary, and not through any other party.

With regard to deposits in the banking sector, Mansouri explained that it is 86 billion dollars, and it is distributed among banks according to their sizes, whether classified within the Class A or less. He indicated that the Bank of Lebanon has accurate details of the distribution of deposits, from small accounts that are less than 3 thousand dollars, to the large accounts of tens of millions. He stressed that this accurate distribution helps in developing a future plan, noting that the study prepared by the Bank of Lebanon on this issue is very accurate, and the current government can rely on it to develop an acceptable plan to restore depositors’ money.

As for the issue of bearing losses in the budget of the Bank of Lebanon, Mansouri said that the issue includes four parties, who are deposed, banks, the Central Bank of Lebanon, and the state. He stressed that the depositors do not bear any responsibility, and that everyone should work to return their deposits through a fair plan that helps in recovering the money as soon as possible, indicating that after six years of delay, it has become necessary for the depositor to obtain a clear answer from the Bank of Lebanon, the government and parliament, especially with regard to the mechanism of restoring his deposit and the time period specified for that.

He added that banks, the Bank of Lebanon and the state should cooperate to return the money of depositors, as part of a plan that preserves the banking sector, because the economy cannot work without it. He believed that banks should be held responsible for returning money, but at the same time, it should be taken into consideration that any plan adopted must maintain the continuity of the Lebanese banking sector. He stressed that the central bank will put all its potential to carry out its duties and push what it has, pointing out that the Lebanese state possesses unexploited wealth that can be studied to know how it contributed to returning these funds.

Mansouri pointed out that these issues are subject to a daily discussion within the Lebanese government, and between the government and the central bank, adding that it can be said that these discussions began to be translated practically, and may be translated soon by issuing new laws.