Jean Riachi – Q&A

Jean Riachi is the chairman and CEO of FFA Private Bank, Lebanon’s largest investment bank. Riachi sits down with Executive to talk economic outlook, investment opportunities for the bank, and strategies going forward. What is your opinion of the macroeconomic situation — what’s influencing it and what are the biggest challenges for the country in 2013? I think 2013 was the year where the regression of Lebanon was revealed and really felt, while probably it started in 2011. It might not be very clear when you look at the macroeconomic figures because they don’t show a big decrease in activity, but we really do feel that, and I’m talking not about recession, but about regression, because the country has entered into a phase of not only much slower growth but also a lot of sluggishness, a lot of bad mood. Now in terms of the banking sector, it has not