Banque Du Liban

About Banque du Liban (BDL), Lebanon's central bank, the report observes, "BDL plays a critical role in sustaining confidence, although, without sustained fiscal adjustment, there are limits to these policies." The assessment, which runs to nearly 80 pages in body text and appendices, concludes by saying: "Developing a strategy that addresses the elements noted above, including eventual withdrawal of BDL's economic stimulus programs, and bringing in views from the financial industry and other stakeholders, could build consensus around reform priorities and sequencing with due regard to financial stability and integrity concerns." This is just as true at the end of 2017 as it was a year earlier. What the paper was naturally unable to predict, however, was the journey of national sentiments from the end of last year to December 2017, a whitewater adventure in a raging stream of unpredictable political twists and economic turns. On this ride, the banking sector proved to be an essential raft of stability, providing stabilizing effects on the financial economy, such as wealth management and insurance, and on the entire country. Moreover, while the past year saw some rumors and debates over allegedly impending financial and economic doom owing to the central bank's monetary policy, the year's dangerous instability was not at all related to banking or BDL monetary policy. It arose from pure politics.