A small matter of perspective

From the position of Lebanon’s Capital Markets Authority, the world is a garden of well-tended and super-fragrant roses, especially in regard to its own achievements. Thanks to the CMA’s regulatory progress, financial markets should finally start growing to the benefit of Lebanon if all stakeholders would just close ranks and stand shoulder to shoulder with one another. Problems according to this view are only political and all that the CMA has done in the past few years was “send very positive signals of trust to both the stakeholders and the investors” – so the CMA thinks. This can be seen quite differently, however. There is no argument over the CMA’s regulatory function or the need to have a “new sheriff in town”. But when it comes to the issues of market control and the thorny problem of preserving free markets in Lebanon’s clientilistic environment, the CMA’s self-image of being a