The Beirut banking fraternity will look back on 2005 with distinctly mixed feelings. The St Valentine’s Day assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri robbed Lebanon of the central figure behind its post-civil war renaissance, yet the aftermath – with international and domestic pressure successfully applied on Syria to withdraw its troops – has restored confidence in the country’s ability to shape its own future independent of outside interference.
Bankers see this year as providing the foundation stone for long-term growth. They are drawing particular comfort from the expressions of support elicited at the New York United Nations summit meeting in September, with promises of further aid to support Lebanon’s heavily indebted economy.
