The dean of the college of business at Phoenicia University suggests a roadmap for Lebanon’s economic recovery as the country faces default for the first time in its history.

Lebanon's veteran central banker Riad Salame talks to The Banker about interest rates, bank compliance and consolidation in the country's financial sector. 

Lebanon’s banks are keeping their heads above water, but the country’s wider problems continue to pose a risk to its economic future. 

A combination of political paralysis and fiscal crises have brought Lebanon’s economy to its day of reckoning. 

Lebanon's economy has been underperforming in recent years, hit by political uncertainty and fears over the conflict in Syria. However, an injection of finance from a group of international donors, combined with excitement over oil and gas discoveries, provide some cause for optimism. James King reports.

Lebanese banks have weathered punishing conditions, including a tough new tax regime. Technological innovations continue to drive progress, but as James King reports, structural economic flaws must be addressed if they are to continue to thrive. 

The environment in which Lebanon's banks have been operating has been challenging, meaning that despite their steady growth a backdrop of uncertainty is influencing policy. And they are also having to contend with a public backlash regarding profits from a central bank swap offer, writes Edward Russell-Walling.

The long-awaited election of a new president in Lebanon has been welcomed both at home and abroad. However, the political process in the country is still moving at a snail's pace, and issues such as the influx of Syrian refugees and an eye-watering debt-to-GDP ratio continue to loom large, as Edward Russell-Walling reports.

Long-serving governor Riad Salamé is coming to the end of his fourth term at the helm of the Banque du Liban, Lebanon's central bank. Speculation is rife about whether he will be replaced but, as he tells Edward Russell-Walling, the decision is out of his hands.

Proximity to war-torn Syria is piling on the pressure for Lebanon, which faces plummeting tourist numbers and an influx of refugees. Yet the country's GDP continues to show modest growth, and offshore oil reserves wait to be tapped if the political will can be found.