本周，黎巴嫩中央银行撤销了伊朗最大商业银行之一——Saderat银行的本地经营许可证。此举正值美国加大压力，要求各国切断与伊朗伊斯兰共和国的商业往来之际。
Lebanon’s central bank this week revoked the local license of Bank Saderat, one of Iran’s biggest lenders, as the US raises pressure on nations to cut commercial ties with the Islamic Republic.
黎巴嫩中央银行行长卡里姆·苏艾德在接受采访时表示：“这一举措旨在向外界明确表明：我们决心保护本国银行业，使其免受任何可能对其造成风险的实体或因素的侵害。”
The move aims to “send a clear signal to the outside world that we are determined to protect our banking sector from any entity that might cause it a risk of contamination,” Lebanon’s central bank governor Karim Souaid said in an interview.
苏艾德指出，黎巴嫩的这一决定与其他地区中央银行（如阿拉伯联合酋长国和土耳其）对伊朗金融系统的限制措施是一致的，同时也与美国在全球范围内施加的更大压力相呼应。美国正试图通过经济手段孤立伊朗，迫使该国接受结束战争的条款。
The move by Lebanon follows other regional central banks, such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey in tightening restrictions on the Iranian financial system, and coincides with increased pressure globally from the US, the governor said. Washington is waging a campaign to economically isolate Iran as it tries to force the Islamic Republic to agree to US conditions to end the war.
Saderat银行是伊朗历史最悠久的商业银行之一，在海外设有多家分支机构。上个月，英国宣布将拒绝任何受到美国制裁的伊朗银行（包括Saderat银行）的新许可证申请；Saderat银行在伦敦金融城还设有分支机构。
Bank Saderat is one of Iran’s oldest commercial lenders and operates several branches overseas. Last month the UK announced it would reject new license applications by any Iranian banks sanctioned by the US, including Saderat, which runs a branch near the Bank of England in the City of London.
苏艾德在泰国曼谷举行的国际货币基金组织年会上表示：“我们已经看到，像阿联酋和土耳其这样经济实力更强的国家都遵守了这些要求，以维护本国银行业与国际金融体系的正常关系。黎巴嫩无法承受这样的风险。有时我们必须做出一些政治上敏感的决定，因为我们必须保护本国银行业免受外部制裁或压力的影响。”
“We saw that all other bigger, stronger economies like the UAE and Turkey have complied with such requests in order to preserve the relationship of their banks with the international financial system,” Souaid said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand. “Lebanon can’t sustain such a risk.”“We have to take decisions sometimes that are politically sensitive because we want to protect our banking sector from any outside sanctions or outside pressure,” he said.
他还提到，由于在打击非法资金流动方面存在不足，黎巴嫩必须退出金融行动特别工作组（Financial Action Task Force）的“灰名单”，并“清理本国经济中的所有非法、违法资金”。此外，黎巴嫩中央银行还聘请了一家美国专业机构来梳理该国的现金流动情况，以追踪任何可疑活动。
Souaid said Lebanon has to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s so-called gray list for shortcomings in tackling illegal money flows and “clean up its economy from all illicit, unlawful and money laundering funds”. The central bank hired a specialized US firm to map the country’s cash economy and track any suspicious activity, he added.
黎巴嫩正在努力扭转该国经济状况：该国在 2020 年遭遇了金融危机，导致约 300 亿美元的国际债券违约。目前，黎巴嫩正与国际货币基金组织（IMF）进行谈判，以争取获得贷款，这是经济复苏的关键一步。
Lebanon is pushing to turn the nation’s economy around from a financial collapse that resulted in the default of about $30 billion of international bonds in 2020. The country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a potential loan, a key step in the recovery.
“这将是一个非常重要的问题，”苏艾德（Souaid）表示。虽然这并不属于 IMF 提供援助的必要条件之一，但这位官员指出：“按照惯例，提供贷款的机构和参与该援助计划的捐助方都会要求黎巴嫩的金融体系必须保持透明、健康（即不存在严重的财务问题）。”
“This is going to be an important issue,” Souaid said. While not part of the IMF’s conditions for a potential support package, “it is an unwritten rule that the lender and the donors who will join the program will insist on having a clean, financial sector,” the governor said.