Lebanon on Thursday named asset manager Karim Souaid as its new central bank governor. He will be expected to restructure the banking sector and fairly distribute losses from Lebanon's 2019 financial collapse, which erased the savings of ordinary Lebanese, tanked the currency and sparked an economic crisis.
In announcing Souaid's appointment, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged the new governor to focus on talks with the International Monetary Fund, restructuring banks, tightening banking secrecy laws and prioritizing depositors' rights.
"The governor, whoever he is and whatever the reservations about his selection, must commit from today to the financial policies of our reformist government," Salam said following a cabinet vote on the appointment.
Souaid, who holds a degree from Harvard Law School and founded asset management firm GrowthGate Capital in 2007, won the support of 17 ministers in the 24-member cabinet, two sources with direct knowledge of the vote told Reuters.
Salam and President Joseph Aoun have both pledged to prioritize reforms to help secure funds desperately needed to kickstart the economy and rebuild the country following the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah.
But they were split over who to appoint as central bank governor, with Aoun backing Souaid and Salam against him, according to two Lebanese government officials, two sources familiar with the dispute and a Western diplomat.
The incoming governor will replace interim chief Wassim Mansouri, who has been overseeing the bank since longer-serving governor Riad Salameh's tenure ended in disgrace in 2023 due to the financial implosion.
In the wake of the crisis, Lebanon was placed on a financial watchdog's "grey list" for failing to address concerns about terrorism financing and money laundering through its financial system.
