Three months since his appointment, Souhaid is still taking his time

Appointed in March amid high political tensions, Banque du Liban Governor Karim Souhaid appeared to clear an initial hurdle when he secured 17 votes from Cabinet ministers — with backing from President Joseph Aoun — against seven from Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s bloc. But three months on, his early advantage is already eroding, along with hopes for swift reforms, as entrenched political dynamics slow progress.A top-down approach meets resistanceSouhaid has issued a few key directives since taking office, including tighter regulations on electronic wallets and remittance transfers in May, and increased withdrawal limits on frozen accounts as of June 17. But on the central issue — banking sector restructuring — he has quickly run into stiff resistance.His proposal to centralize restructuring authority under Banque du Liban’s High Banking...