The governor of the Lebanese central bank Riad Salameh will be honored on March 2nd at New York’s Wall Street by ringing the bell when the stock market opens next Monday morning. This kind of honorary celebration is only hosted for elite economic figures in the world.
This comes as a reward for his achievements and strategic decisions through the global economic crisis. And thanks to him, banks in Lebanon had one of their best financial years!
Below is what the Los Angeles Times wrote about his success story during the crisis:
Throughout history, men braved the odds to perform great feats. Outmatched generals snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Titans of industry gambled on bold innovations to reap jackpots. Athletes tested the limits of human endurance in quests for glory.
Riad Toufic Salame, the governor of Lebanon’s central bank, is not one of those men.
Instead, the silver-haired banker became a hero by playing it very, very safe. In 2005, he defied pressure from the Lebanese business community and bucked international trends to issue what now looks like a prophetic decree: a blanket order barring any bank in his country from investing in mortgage-backed securities, which contributed to the most dramatic collapse of financial institutions since the Great Depression.
So as major banks in America and Europe were shuttered or partly nationalized and thousands of people in the U.S. financial sector were laid off, Lebanon’s banks had one of their best years ever.
Read the full article here.
Not to take anything away from Riad Salame, who I think has been a very good steward of Lebanon’s banking (and, by extension, financial) system, but … there are roughly 255 trading days per year, and an honoree of some kind rings the bell on most of these days.
Also, I think ringing the bell was a bit more fun back when people assumed that the market would go up that day. There were a number of jokes this fall about how the stock exchange might not be able to get anyone to ring the bell, for fear that their day would bring another 3% drop.
On the other hand, I’ve never been asked to ring the bell and would jump at the chance, so please put this down as “additional info” and not “sour grapes” 😀
oh definitely not sour grapes! heh! i like how adiamondinsunlight thinks! The closest bell I ever rang my house’s when i forgot the key.
On that note, I think Riad Salemeh played it safe… by mistake. I donno.
You really don’t know what you are talking about Liliane! and you too adiamoninsunlight….
for once we have a great smart man in Lebanon with good strategies and all you can’t find to say is that it is “by mistake”!!!!!
the whole world in honoring this man… and you his own people are critisising!!! what a shame! this is why lebanese will never evolve!
and yes it’s an honour to be on wall street to ring the opening bell! it’s an hounour that a small county like lebanon is the center of attention of every single country! of every article in magazines all over the world!
and for once not about war or tragedies! for once for something great!
all the world would like have someone like riad salame….
and we are lucky to have him…
but as I’ve noticed some people are not smart enough to notice!
you should be poud instead of crtiticising!!!!!!!
Dear Lama,
You do have your own point of view but please understand that others are also free to express their opinions.
I am on your side, I believe he didn’t take his decisions by mistake or by chance.
But no one is allowed to call others as “not smart” for thinking in a different way.
Hope to see your comments again 🙂
I tend to find myself leaning towards the Diamond person and Liliane but a bit more moderate. I don’t think his decisions were by mistake. I think a man like him is experienced enough to have made the decisions he made with prior thinking. In this field, the slightest mistake could be costly.
Assuming a capitalistic society is the correct way to govern a people, Riad is my boy, my hat definetly goes off to him… He def made me proud