LEBANON: EPCA EXTENSION, DELICATE BANKING BALANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 000330 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO STATE FOR NEA/FO KHARRINGTON/MPOPAL AND NEA/ELA DEPT PLEASE PASS TO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2018 TAGS: EINV PGOV PREL PTER LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: EPCA EXTENSION, DELICATE BANKING BALANCE THEMES OF TREASURY DAS BAUKOL'S VISIT Classified By: CDA Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary: ¶1. (C) U.S. Treasury DAS Andrew Baukol's visit to Beirut on February 25 was dominated by two recurring themes: the expired IMF Emergency Post Conflict Agreement (EPCA) must be replaced, and the normally robust Lebanese banking system might be more sensitive to increased security risks than politicians believe. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), pleased with the results of the EPCA, will develop a new instrument, realizing that it will be impossible to negotiate a stand-by arrangement when the immediate future is uncertain. Banking regulators are satisfied that the banks are in order, and work towards Basel II implementation is proceeding well. "Stress tests" of bank solvency get good marks. Privatization of the telecom sector is temporarily stalled, but the regulatory authority will keep pushing ahead. End summary. AZOUR IS PLANNING ALONG PARALLEL TRACKS -------------- ¶2. (C) In a February 25 meeting with Minister of Finance Jihad Azour and his senior team, Treasury DAS Andrew Baukol and Charge Sison heard that French President Sarkozy reaffirmed his strong support for Lebanon the previous week by signing a soft loan agreement for $375 million Euros. Azour believes the French are not happy that the U.S. took over as Lebanon's leading source of imports. Azour asked for French support in keeping the economic reform agenda going, even though he admitted that of the $7.3 billion pledged in Paris, less than $2 billion in donations have been "really useful" to the GOL. But symbolic actions are important, and EU and U.S. influence carries a lot of weight. Azour says that he is now planning for two political scenarios, including one in which a new president and a new government take over soon, and one that envisions a Lebanon without a president or working parliament for the balance of 2008, and the current government continuing in power. Interministerial committees are working on new plans as well, he said. ¶3. (C) Maintaining confidence will be key to preventing fiscal collapse, Azour stressed. In 2008, Lebanon will have a lower financing requirement than in 2006 and 2007. Although Lebanon is "not a positive investment opportunity," he dismissed the notion in the press of the day that Saudi investors have taken over $4 billion in investments out of Lebanon. "We would have felt it," Azour said. Although Azour admits that the IMF will find it "difficult" to negotiate a new agreement, he favors carrying on with something to replace the EPCA to provide the discipline. However, he also feels that he and his staff have made it impossible for the political opposition to isolate Lebanon from the world financial system, as happened during the Lebanese civil war. HADDAD DEALING WITH "THORNY" TRADE ISSUES -------------- ¶4. (C) Minister of Economy and Trade Sami Haddad, along with his two senior advisors Lama Ouijian and Marwan Mikhail, told DAS Baukol and Charge that Lebanon is missing a "huge opportunity" by exporting the best of its "human capital," but one benefit is that the remittances promote a rate of growth that is "not too bad." If the security situation, which Haddad views as more critical than the political situation, does not improve, then growth in 2008 will again be limited to 2-3 percent. The GOL is constrained in resolving the fiscal crisis by two limits: the inability to borrow sufficient funds in foreign currencies, and a problematic foreign exchange rate. ¶5. (C) Private sector funding out of the Paris III Donor's Conference resulted in $1.3 billion pledged, of which $850-900 million has been disbursed. The commercial banks on their own will lend very little in medium term loans, but will do more with money flowing through from outside. Haddad noted that he has "thorny issues" to deal with, among them WTO accession, trade and the impact of the Arab Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). Although he had recently bluntly refused to request an extension of protectionist measures in agriculture, and suffered a great deal of domestic criticism, Haddad admitted that at the prodding of the Prime Minister he has "orally" requested an extension of the so-called Agricultural Calendar, which would provide some seasonal protection to Lebanese agricultural producers under AFTA. ONE YEAR EXTENSION FOR EPCA, INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR SOLID BANKING SECTOR -------------- ¶6. (C) Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Economic Advisor Mazen Hanna told DAS Baukol looming debt payments and rising interest rates were not good for the economy but were manageable now, due to Lebanon's solid banking sector and increased liquidity in the region. In addition, the weakening of the U.S. dollar is leading to rising demand for the Lebanese pound. In the long term, Lebanon would need continued international support, which he equated to international support through donor conferences such as Paris III, and international financial contributions, such as an upcoming $1 billion Saudi deposit in the Central Bank of Lebanon. Lebanon also needs a one year extension to implement some of the policies in the IMF EPCA, such as lifting the excise gas tax and privatization of the telecommunication industry. Hanna argued that if the GOL enacted these reforms now, the pro-Syrian opposition could use the issue of higher gas prices to consumers as a weapon against the pro-western March 14 majority. Hanna told DAS Baukol that it would be important for the IMF to extend the EPCA through 2010 in order to give Lebanon an opportunity to enact reforms and provide positive signals to Paris III donors. Hanna said that he would raise the extension issue with IMF Director of Middle East and Central Asia Mohsen Kahn, who was visiting Lebanon. TELECOMMUNICATIONS PRIVATIZATION STALLED, BUT TRA COMMITTED -------------- ¶7. (C) Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) Chairman Kamal Shehadi discussed the developing telecommunications regulation in Lebanon. Shehadi noted that due to the political impasse, the privatization of the telecom sector has stalled. However, Shehadi said he is using this time to train his staff and to acquire some of the technical knowledge and expertise needed to be an effective regulatory authority. Shehadi gave DAS Baukol an update on the sale of the mobile telephone and broadband internet licenses, as well as efforts to regulate the radio frequencies. Shehadi mentioned that he is receiving some opposition to these efforts, not only from the Ministry of Telecommunications (MOT),but also from the PM,s office. Shehadi discussed recent comments made by Telecom Minister Marwan Hamadeh, in which Hamadeh said that forty percent of total GOL revenue last year came from the telephone companies. Therefore, the GOL was in no hurry to privatize this industry, Shehadi said. However, Shehadi said he would not be deterred by such opposition and was committed to regulating Lebanon's telecommunications sector. BANKERS BELIEVE SECTOR IS STRONG, BUT REFORM IS NECESSARY -------------- ¶8. (C) At a lunch hosted by Charge for DAS Baukol, a cross section of the banking industry, including members of four confessions (Sunni, Shi'a, Christian and Druze) were unanimous about the strength of the Lebanese banking sector. Dr. Makram Sader, Secretary General of the Association of Banks, pointed out that the commercial banks are ahead of the curve in complying with Basel II, and keeping up with CBL circulars and new regulations. Fadi Osseiran, GM of BLOM Invest Bank, said that if the GOL does not have the discipline, and if the IMF does not impose conditionality, others will. "We have a problem, and we need reform." Sader agreed, saying that achieving fiscal reform might be the only way to buy political entente. Saying that he believes that no government will agree on a new IMF program, he felt it would be easier to depend on the oil-rich countries for support. CBL GOVERNOR FORESEES PROBLEMS, DOES NOT EXPECT STAND-BY AGREEMENT, INDICATES NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT -------------- ¶9. (C) At the Central Bank, Governor Riad Salameh said he does not forecast a crisis, but expects the CBL to come under pressure this year. Salameh explained, also talking about the cost of political unrest, that interest rates are remaining stable in Lebanon while dropping in international markets, attracting foreign inflows to Lebanon but holding down growth. Salameh expects "a very slow growth in 2008," with less employment, more poverty, more emigration, and companies relocating to other countries. He believes that recent press reports alleging that Saudi investors have withdrawn $4.5 billion in investments from Lebanon aim to create political pressure, and are likely not true. Regarding the EPCA, which he initially opposed but now says was valuable, Salameh believes it would be difficult to renew for another year, but offered no other options. He does not expect the IMF to discuss a stand-by arrangement with the GOL; any commitment for a stand-by arrangement needs to be backed by political stability. Although Salameh mentioned that he has yet to see the rumored $1 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia, he highlighted the need to maintain international support for Lebanon, noting that support from the west, especially the U.S., has a psychological impact on the financial markets. This mirrors comments by the bankers, who suggested that the promise of the deposit might carry as much value as the deposit itself. BANKING CONTROL COMMISSION STRESS-TESTS THE BANKING SECTOR, GIVES GREEN LIGHT BUT WARNS POLITICIANS COULD "BREAK THE BANK" -------------- ¶10. (C) Amine Awad, member of the Banking Control Commission (BCC) and of the Higher Banking Counsel, and Mayya Dabbagh, his deputy, provided DAS Baukol with an overview of Lebanon's banking sector. Their role includes monitoring the implementation of Basel II, detailed monitoring of all Lebanese banks, at home and abroad, and benchmarking banks, performance against an "under stress" scenario. They concluded that while the BCC has been able to maintain the government's financial stability to an extent, the current situation is untenable in the end. ¶11. (C) According to Awad, there are 45-50 banks in Lebanon, and the top five or six banks make up 80 percent of the banking sector. Over the last two years the larger banks have increasingly looked abroad to diversify in countries with higher ratings. In fact, 35 percent of the total banking revenue in Lebanon comes from abroad, although that represents less than ten percent of $87 billion in bank assets. ¶12. (C) The BCC regularly monitors the performances of the banking sector, and applies an "under stress" scenario to assess the banks' liquidity ratios, capital outflows, foreign exchange dealings, and other metrics. In particular, Awad said they are looking to see if the political situation is affecting the banking sector, at which point the BCC might need to intervene. Awad confessed, "The BCC is supporting the politicians, but this is not indefinitely sustainable." He added that the politicians know the banking sector will bail them out so they are relaxed; however, Awad expressed his anxiety that the politicians could ultimately break the bank. Foreign deposits could avert that disaster. ¶13. (C) Awad discussed the dollarization rate, which is currently at 72-73 percent, saying that while this rate increases during a crisis, the BCC is comfortable with today's rate. He is comfortable with the ability of Lebanese banks to conform to Basel II requirements on time, including good sovereign debt ratios, even under a severe &stress scenario,8 which assumes more rating agency downgrades and reduced deposits. Awad does not anticipate needing outside expertise to assist with implementation, an opinion echoing earlier statements by the head of the Association of Banks. IMF SHOULD "BRIDGE THE GAP" BETWEEN EPCA AND STAND-BY ARRANGEMENT -------------- ¶14. (C) Director General of the Ministry of Finance Alain Bifani, an outspoken critic of many GOL officials, does not see this government as able to negotiate an IMF program, not because it is weak or on its way out, but because there is too much political infighting. The IMF knows that, Bifani said, adding that he had recommended to IMF Director Mohsen Khan that the IMF "bridge the gap." He added that the current government did not achieve many reforms, and because he believes that "not much can be done in this administration," he is leaving the Ministry after eight years in office. (Note: Bifani is a possible Minister of Finance if the political opposition is granted that seat in negotiations over a new cabinet following the election of a president. He claims he "is not backed by any political side." End note.) ¶15. (C) Bifani does not expect the next government to be strong and able to push for reform either. On the contrary, he expects the new government will be weak, with a few reformists who, using the IMF "stick," could initiate reform. Although he is dismissive of Paris III contributions, saying that out of $7.6 billion in pledges the GOL has received only $1.7 billion to date, he says that the GOL needs approximately $5.2 billion in foreign currencies annually to pay for debt servicing, fuel bills, CDs and its dollarized deficit. This accounts, he says, for the determined effort by the GOL to shift Paris III pledges from project financing to budgetary support. He believes that in 2008 the GOL will be forced to deal with the disastrous financial situation of the national power company, the accumulating state deficit, and the rising public debt. IMF SAYS THEY WILL COME UP WITH A BRIDGE -------------- ¶16. (C) The DCM's dinner with IMF Director of Middle East and Central Asia Mohsen Khan and Resident Representative Ed Gardiner rounded out Baukol's discussion of the EPCA. The IMF officials said that the IMF plans to create a replacement agreement, to bridge the gap between the currently completely EPCA and a stand-by arrangement. Noting that the IMF is generally very pleased with the GOL performance, he acknowledged that Lebanon is not ready for the latter, even if it were possible to negotiate an agreement with a possibly dying government. ¶17. (U) DAS Baukol has cleared this cable. SISON