A top Lebanese banker says new U.S. sanctions against the militant Hezbollah group expected to be released in the near future are not likely to affect the country's banking sector.
BEIRUT (AP) — New U.S. sanctions against the militant Hezbollah group expected to be released in the near future are not likely to affect the country's banking sector that is the backbone of the tiny Arab country's economy, a top Lebanese banker said Monday.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as this week on new sanctions against Hezbollah. It is still not clear whether the sanctions will target Hezbollah's allies in Lebanon. The U.S. has been increasing pressure on Hezbollah and earlier this month imposed sanctions on two Hezbollah officials and offered millions of dollars for information leading to their capture.
Joseph Torbey, head of Association of Banks in Lebanon, told reporters that U.S. officials have reassured a Lebanese banking delegation that visited Washington recently that the sanctions are not going to target the Lebanese banking sector as long as they abide by American regulations.
He added that the Lebanese banking delegation tried through its meetings with U.S. officials and bankers "to shield the Lebanese economy from negative repercussions resulting from the new laws."
(…)
