ABL Board of Directors organized on April 22 a lunch at the Phoenicia Hotel in honor of the Banking Control Commission. The Governor of the Central Bank and a number of its deputies attended the celebration. Several bankers were present to congratulate the newly designated president and members of the said commission.

In his speech, ABL’s president, Dr. François Bassil, said: “The control of banks has been based and still is on two pillars: first, the autonomy, which cannot be compatible with coordination and collaboration, and secondly, the application of best practices and regulations of the global banking supervision, in line with the banks’ commitment to international standards in operations, balance sheets, as well as in the managing our risks and in the guidelines of banks’ board governance and other banking fields…”   

As for the President of the Banking Control Commission (BCC), Mr. Samir Hammoud said that the soundness of banks in Lebanon lies primarily in the ability of their governments to face all challenges. He added: “Our role is to support the management and ensure good governance of banking institutions… The guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Lebanon have accompanied the development of the banking sector to meet with international standards in combating money laundering and terrorism financing…”