BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker finance minister said it would contact a consulting firm on Wednesday to resume a forensic audit of the central bank, a key condition for foreign aid that has hit a roadblock.
Parliament agreed this week to lift banking secrecy for one year, after the restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal pulled out of the audit, saying it had not been given information it needed.
“It was decided based on the law from parliament and government decisions to contact the firm A&M to resume the forensic audit,” caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni’s office cited him as saying after meeting with the president.
A presidency statement later quoted Wazni as saying the firm had recently sent a letter to the central bank that showed its willingness to resume work with the Lebanese government.
Such an audit is on list of reforms donors have demanded before helping Lebanon out of its financial crisis, rooted in decades of state waste and graft.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said last month that he favored an audit but that disclosing the accounts of local banks would require a change in legislation.
Some Lebanese officials have accused him of using bank secrecy laws to justify withholding information.
Lebanon to ask consultants to resume central bank audit
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Lebanon to ask consultants to resume central bank audit
- Parliament agreed this week to lift banking secrecy for one year
Citi shuts most UAE branches temporarily as banks evacuate offices in region
DUBAI: Citibank will close most of its UAE branches and financial centers until March 14 as a precaution, its website showed on Thursday, as banks in the region sent staff home in response to a deepening Middle East conflict.
The US financial group’s measures are the latest sign of growing concern among banks after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the US and Israel.
The Citi branch in the Mall of the Emirates in central Dubai is exempted from the closure, the bank said on its website, adding it plans to reopen all affected branches on March 16.
Citi had moved to a fully remote model for all UAE-based staff and was continuing to serve clients without interruption, a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has so far killed around 2,000 people and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos as the conflict has spread across the Middle East, with Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
Citi told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Center and Dubai’s Oud Metha district this week and to work from home until further notice.
“The decision to evacuate three of our buildings and to close branches in the UAE was responsive to information we received and is consistent with our commitment to prioritize the safety of our colleagues,” the spokesperson said.
HSBC, another major global bank, has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, a customer notice said, to ensure the safety of staff and customers.
The war has dented Dubai’s sales pitch to international businesses as the region’s most reliable economic hub, prompting concerns of capital flight, layoffs and firms relocating elsewhere, Reuters reported last week.
Citi said on its website that its phone banking service in the UAE was currently operating at a limited capacity and the processing of cheques would experience delays.
