Acting Governor of Banque du Liban (BDL), Dr. Wassim Mansouri, said that the policy of the central bank would not change, reiterating that there would be no funding for the state, “neither in Lebanese pounds nor in US dollars.”
He also called for holding a joint workshop to respond to the citizens’ inquiries about their deposits in US dollars.
Mansouri was speaking during a meeting at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (ESC), where he outlined the BDL’s financial and monetary policies.
Mansouri assumed the position of acting governor of the BDL on the first of August, after the expiry of the term of Governor Riad Salameh.
Since the beginning of his duty, he has refused to use the Central Bank’s reserve funds, and has refrained from disbursing amounts to cover major government expenses, if legal cover was not available for them.
Mansouri stressed that the state would continue to pay public sector salaries in US dollars.
“We, as the Central Bank of Lebanon, agree to this mechanism from a purely monetary standpoint. This ensures living and social stability for about 400,000 families,” he stated.
However, the acting governor noted that these amounts were entirely derived from the revenues of the Lebanese state, not from the Central Bank. He explained that not a single dollar has been paid by the BDL since the beginning of August to finance the state.
Mansouri called for the holding of a joint workshop that includes representatives from the government, Parliament, the central bank, and the Economic Council, to give answers to the citizens regarding their stranded bank deposits in US dollars.
“The Central Bank is a strong institution and has capabilities. Diligent work is underway to improve all its governance mechanisms,” he said, calling on the Lebanese people to “trust the institution.”
In response to a question about whether more Lebanese pounds would be printed to maintain monetary stability, Mansouri stressed that there would be no change in the Central Bank’s policy.
“There will be no funding for the state, neither in lira nor in dollars, which means that, in principle, there’s stability, and the impact is more on the state than on the central bank...” he remarked.
For his part, the president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Charles Arbid, emphasized that monetary stability was one of the priorities of the council’s work.
He called on the political forces in Lebanon to expedite the election of a new president and form a capable and reliable government, stressing that political matters “have a fundamental impact on the monetary and economic situation and the social reality.”
