The First Meeting of the Cypriot-Lebanese Banking authorities and associations was held in Limassol Cyprus on February 14th, 2014.
The Meeting was attended on the Cypriot side by HE Panikos Demetriades. Governor of the Cypriot Central Bank; Mr. Doros Eliodorou, Chairman of the Association of Cyprus Banks, Mr. Adnan Nuwayhed, Vice-Chairman of the Association of International Banks in Cyprus; and their respective delegations.
The Lebanese delegation was led by HE Riad Salameh, Governor of the Central Bank: Mr. Usama Mikdashi, Chairman of the Banking Control Commission, Dr. François Bassil, Chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon; and their respective delegations.
The purpose of this meeting was to start a dialogue between the two banking systems with the aim of strengthening relations between the Cypriot and Lebanese banking sectors.
The main topics that were discussed include:
A. Establishing the framework of cooperation between the Cyprus banking sector, the Lebanese banking sector, and the international banks present in Cyprus with the aim of supporting the Cypriot economy.
B. Regulators held a meeting that discussed regulatory issues relating to cooperation between the two bodies, measures to strengthen anti-money laundering, and the restrictive measures imposed by the Cypriot authorities.
The resolutions that were taken are:
1. CBC will be providing an update on implementation of the road map of the gradual lifting of the restrictive measures.
2. A working committee was established by the representatives of the three associations of banks to follow up on the road map and on the measures that should see this cooperation translated into effective support of the mutual interest of the two banking sectors and the economies of the two countries.
3. Attending banking regulators will work together to enhance cooperation on banking regulatory and supervisory subjects, including mutual cooperation on AML subjects.
4. The two central banks and the Lebanese Banking Control Commission will continue to encourage the spirit of cooperation that prevailed during the meeting of the three associations.