Seeking to protect the financial system, Lebanon this week pulled Bank Saderat's authorization to operate domestically. The bank is one of Iran's biggest lenders. Governor Karim Souaid said the step is meant to "send a clear signal to the outside world that we are determined to protect our banking sector from any entity that might cause it a risk of contamination," adding, "Lebanon can't sustain such a risk."
Souaid cast the decision as part of a broader shift as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey tighten restrictions on Iran's financial system, a trend that lines up with increased U.S. pressure globally. He said the region's larger economies have complied "in order to preserve the relationship of their banks with the international financial system."
Washington is mounting a campaign to cut Iran off economically as it seeks to push the Islamic Republic to accept U.S. conditions to end the war. Others are moving too. In the U.K., officials said last month they would reject new license applications by Iranian banks under U.S. sanctions, including Bank Saderat, whose office is located close to the Bank of England in the City of London.
Souaid made these remarks in Bangkok, Thailand, where the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings were taking place. "We have to take decisions sometimes that are politically sensitive because we want to protect our banking sector from any outside sanctions or outside pressure," he said.
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Lebanon is trying to pull out of a deep financial collapse that led to a 2020 default on about $30 billion of international bonds, and it is negotiating with the IMF on a potential loan. Souaid said Lebanon needs to exit the Financial Action Task Force's gray list for shortcomings in combating illicit flows and to "clean up its economy from all illicit, unlawful and money laundering funds." To support that, the central bank brought on a US specialist firm to chart the cash economy and monitor suspicious activity.
"This is going to be an important issue," Souaid said. While it is not part of the IMF's formal requirements, he called a "clean, financial sector" an unwritten rule for the Fund and for donors that could join any program.
Pulling Bank Saderat's license is Lebanon signaling it wants back into good standing with global finance by reducing perceived contagion risk and aligning with international norms. If the clean up sticks and IMF talks move forward, the country's risk profile could cool over time. It will not change overnight, but it is the kind of work that can shift how capital views a market.
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