BEIRUT: The president of the Association of Lebanese Banks Joseph Torbey stressed Friday that the banking sector is capable of overcoming Moody’s last report on the outlook of four Lebanese banks with “no substantial damage.”

Emerging from a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, Torbey said that international rating agencies periodically review the rankings of economies and banks and what took place in the region will no doubt have an effect on the regional and Lebanese economies.

Moody’s changed the outlook Wednesday of four leading Lebanese banks from stable to negative due to the tense political situation in Lebanon and turmoil in Syria.

The agency feared that BLOM and Bank Audi, which have presence in Syria and Egypt, may be affected by the events in these countries.

“The negative outlook on the system’s two largest banks – Bank Audi and BLOM Bank – also reflects material exposures to Egypt and Syria. Byblos Bank’s exposure to countries that have recently experienced political turmoil is more moderate, while Bank of Beirut’s is limited,” Moody’s said in a statement.

Torbey said that Lebanon has seen the effects of the developments in the region in recent months as the number of tourists travelling through Syria falling to drastic levels.

Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said Thursday the number of tourists travelling by buses and land transportation through Syria has dropped by 65 percent in recent months.

Most of these travelers are from Jordan and Iran.

“These events will put the rating agencies in a state of alert as these incidents could affect the performance of the banking sector. But these report have a technical nature rather than economic,” Torbey said.

Responding to a question, the banker, who is also the chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, said Moody’s report has no substantial impact on the Lebanese banks which have been labeled by these agencies.

He argued that the loans provided by Lebanese banks in these countries (Syria and Egypt) is nothing more than a drop of an ocean. “As you all know, the Lebanese banks do no operate in one country only. The Lebanese banking sector has become a regional and international banking system.”

The director of ABL Makram Sader downplayed Thursday the significance of Moody’s report on the Lebanese banking sector.

He noted that the assets of Audi Bank and BLOM in both Syria and Egypt do not represent 10 percent of the total consolidated balance sheets of the entire banking sector in these countries.

Sader was also confident that Lebanese banks have the means and resources to weather any unforeseeable problem in the future.

“Lebanese banks managed to emerge strong from all the risks which they faced whether they were political or economic. Of course these banks will be able to weather the impact of the events in the region without suffering substantial casualties,” Torbey told reporters at the Grand Serail.

Despite the economic slowdown and unfolding developments in the region, most Lebanese banks listed on Beirut bourse have recorded impressive net profits in the first six months of 2011.