The latest on Lebanon's Central Bank governorship

The Central Bank's first deputy Governor, Wassim Mansouri, attended recent financial meetings on behalf of Governor Riad Salameh, who could not participate.

The latest of these meetings was with the Arab Monetary Fund in Rabat.

However, Mansouri's participation is aimed at ensuring that Lebanon's seat in financial meetings remains active.

Thus, some sources underlined that Mansouri's attendance does not indicate a change in his stance regarding assuming the governor's duties in case the position becomes vacant at the end of July.

Additionally, sources mentioned that Mansouri is looking for a mechanism that would allow him to evade Article 25 of the Monetary and Credit Law, which states that in case of a vacancy in the governor's position, the first deputy governor assumes the governor's duties until a new governor is appointed.

Moreover, sources revealed that Mansouri and the other three deputy governors are united in their refusal to assume any of the governor's duties if the position becomes vacant.

The same sources further stated that this refusal is a protest against the officials' failure to address the current situation and their attempt to shift the financial and monetary crisis onto the deputy governors.

The sources also mentioned that if the officials were serious, they would first elect a president and form a new government to appoint a new governor and establish financial and monetary policies.

They said if that proves impossible, the current government, even if resigned, could appoint a competent governor and work with him/ her to establish financial and monetary policies.
Currently, negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes to agree on a name.

The appointment of a governor for the Central Bank after Salameh's term ends in July is not just a local matter but of great interest to the United States. This issue could be a crucial pressure point to accelerate the election of a president and the formation of a government.