On April 16, 2010, the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at NDU- Shouf Campus invited Dr. Makram Bou Nassar, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Department at the Central Bank of Lebanon, to deliver a lecture to the students on the recent measures taken by the Central Bank to encourage lending to new projects, environment friendly projects, student loans, and housing loans.

Dr. Bou Nassar gave first an overview of the recent economic, financial and banking developments in Lebanon. He said that Lebanon achieved high economic growth of 9% in 2009, and this growth is expected to continue in 2010. The Inflation rate that stood at around 3% in 2009 is expected to be below 4% in 2010. Remittances from expatriates recorded USD 7 billion in 2009, leading to a balance of payment surplus around USD 8 billion, which is a record amount. He said also that bank deposits registered an annual growth of more than 24%, thus exceeding USD 103 billion at the end of January 2010, around three times Lebanon’s GDP. The dollarization rate declined to less than 64% at the end of January 2010, due to significant conversions from the dollar into the Lebanese pound due to increasing trust and confidence in the Lebanese Currency. Banque du Liban (BDL) foreign assets, excluding gold whose value exceeded USD 10 billion, exceeded USD 30 billion, a new historical high, in the first quarter of 2010. Total equity of banks reached USD 8 billion in January 2010.

Dr. Bou Nassar discussed the Lebanese financial model as designed by the BDL, under the leadership of Governor Riad Salameh. This model has already proven its success, when tested against the various challenges faced by the economy in recent years, including the global financial crisis. He discussed the conservative regulations and prudent supervision by BDL over the last fifteen years that are at the core of the Lebanese financial model. BDL has established a reliable banking system that strictly abides by international banking and accounting standards, particularly in terms of capital adequacy, good governance, transparency, profitability, liquidity, and fighting money laundry and countering terror-Financing. BDL also showed continuous commitment to the stability of the Lebanese Pound’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and this has played a pivotal role in maintaining financial, social and price stability.

Dr. Bou Nassar discussed in detail the recent measures taken by BDL, that aim at encouraging lending in Lebanese pounds at a lower cost, by setting new exemptions from statutory reserve. The new incentives include housing loans, student loans granted for the purpose of students continuing their studies in higher educational institutions, and loans to finance new environment friendly projects or to develop old projects to turn them into environment friendly ones, such as renewable energy, waste management, waste water treatment and recycling, in addition to loans to finance new projects or expand existing ones.

This useful and interesting lecture was followed by several crucial questions raised by both instructors and students. At the end of the event, Dr.Bou Nassar was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the NDU-SC Administration.