Lebanese banking has been admirably durable in the face of adversity: steadily profitable and a dependable source of funds for public and private borrowers. In the past year, however, being pilloried as a public enemy has put its stoicism to the test.
In many ways, 2016 was a year of business as usual for the country's banks – or what has come to feel like usual – with low growth, regional uncertainty and, until late in the year, political stasis. Investment as a proportion of gross domestic product fell to a low of 23%, down from 31% in 2010, before the war in Syria began. So bankers welcomed, as much as anyone, the election of a new president in October, the formation of a new government and the ministerial endorsement of a budget.
