Economics The outlook for Lebanon’s banking system remains negative, Moody’s Investors Service said in a new Banking System Outlook published Wednesday. It added that the main drivers of the outlook are the expectations of weak economic growth and business sentiment in both 2012 and 2013. This weakness is blamed on escalating political unrest and an acceleration in the formation of problem loans related to lending in the domestic market and in countries undergoing political transition or economic slowdown. Declining net profitability, primarily resulting from higher provisioning needs and subdued fee-generation, was also cited. “The operating environment for banks will remain challenging over the 12-18 month outlook period due to weak growth, the poor performance of sectors key to banks’ asset quality and the factious domestic politics,” the report said. More from The Daily Star An official document clarifying ultimate responsibility for new debt issuance by Abu Dhabi's government-related entities
