The Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Wassim Mansouri, will hold a press conference tomorrow, Friday, at 11 AM at the bank's headquarters, where he will discuss how the central bank is dealing with several urgent obligations, including the payment of public sector salaries in fresh dollars. Mansouri will address the bank’s operations regarding transparency and the provision of accurate figures, as well as the bank's foreign assets.
Mansouri has confirmed his readiness to cooperate with judicial authorities and provide them with everything they need, in addition to facilitating the lifting of banking secrecy, or whatever the security agencies require.
According to information, Mansouri will discuss the general monetary situation of the central bank and the relationship between the bank and the state; however, he will reiterate his stance against funding the state from the mandatory reserves.
Mansouri previously met with the Central Council to discuss the financial situation and its possibilities amid ongoing pressures and multiple demands for hard currency, with the new governor firmly standing by not touching the mandatory reserves under any circumstances, a position maintained for the first time since the departure of former governor Riad Salameh.
On Wednesday, Mansouri met with MPs Mark Daou, Waddah Sadek, and Michel Douaihi, in the presence of deputy governors Bashir Yaqzan and Selim Shaheen. According to a statement from the MPs, the meeting focused on the current policies of the Central Bank aimed at financial stability and the safeguarding of depositors' funds and the remaining reserves at the Central Bank. They discussed the necessary steps to implement the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the urgency of activating accountability especially following the Alvarez & Marsal report, where the MPs supported the independence of the Central Bank and adherence to the Law on Money and Credit, emphasizing the necessity of not lending to the government or any state institutions.
The statement also noted that the MPs received a positive response from the acting governor and the deputy governors regarding their request for the direct engagement of Alvarez & Marsal to complete the forensic audit and provide all the information indicated as missing in the report, as well as full cooperation including interviews with employees of the Central Bank. The representatives of the Central Bank informed the MPs that they have suspended contracts and payments to the French company that rented an apartment in the name of Riad Salameh's daughter’s mother, and they will take necessary action to file a lawsuit against the company to recover unjustified payments made to it.
Additionally, the MPs objected to the loan request of 1.2 billion presented by the representatives of the Central Bank to the Administration and Justice Committee, where the acting governor affirmed that "the offer is no longer valid and the current direction is to reject any loan agreements between the Lebanese state and the Central Bank."
