Lebanon banks warn blast aims to 'rattle' stability

Explosion at Beirut bank seen as a Hezbollah warning against acquiescing to US sanctions on the group

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese banks on Monday warned that the country’s financial sector was at risk after a bomb blast outside a major bank in a western part of the capital.

The explosion late Sunday night blew out the entire glass facade of the headquarters of BLOM BANK, one of the country’s largest, but only one person was lightly wounded.

After an emergency meeting on Monday morning, the Association of Lebanese Banks condemned the attack, which it said “hurt the entire banking sector and aims to rattle economic stability.”

“The Association is subject to the applicable Lebanese laws and to the Central Bank’s circulars,” the statement said.

Politicians and local media have linked the attack to a law voted in December by the US Congress to impose sanctions on banks that deal with Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the US.

Last month, Lebanon’s central bank instructed the country’s banks and financial institutions to comply with the new measure against the Lebanese Shiite group.

Hezbollah has fiercely criticized the law and accused central bank governor Riad Salameh of “yielding” to Washington’s demands.

BLOM BANK on Monday morning said none of the documents stored at its headquarters were damaged in the attack.

Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnuq told AFP the blast was caused by a bomb containing about 3-4 kilos (6.6-8.8 pounds) of explosives.

Several Beirut newspapers known to be critical of Hezbollah said the explosion was a “message” to banks complying with the ruling.

The Arabic-language daily An-Nahar carried a front-page headline Monday that said: “Terrorizing banks… The message has arrived but changes nothing.”

“Maybe they chose BLOM BANK as a target because it has been the strictest in implementing the US sanctions against Hezbollah,” the paper wrote.

French-language L’Orient-Le Jour reported that officials have linked the explosion “to recent tensions in the wake of US sanctions against local banks working with Hezbollah.”

Other papers that are close to Hezbollah, including Al-Akhbar, said the blast was an attempt at sparking sectarian tensions.

Washington has labelled Hezbollah a global terrorist group since 1995, accusing it of a long list of attacks including the bombing of the US Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983.

BLOM BANK director general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no threats had been received by the bank ahead of Sunday’s blast.