BEIRUT: President of the Lebanese banks association Joseph Torbey said Friday that the Lebanese banking sector is resilient and the regional turmoil did not affect the performance of Lebanese banks in Arab countries.

“The size of Lebanese banks in Arab countries is too small compared to their sizes in Lebanon and hence they were not affected by the regional turmoil and particularly the latest Syrian events,” he said in a statement to Al-Markazia.

Torbey has also denied previous allegations made by the Economist magazine about prominent Syrian figures having deposited over $20 billion in Lebanese banks.

“The Lebanese banking sector did not register any remarkable growth in deposits since the beginning of this year, and hence these allegations are not real,” he said.

Torbey also visited Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the two discussed the financial situation in Lebanon.

Torbey urged Mikati to renew the term of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh “which constitutes a guarantee for the financial stability of Lebanon.”