| The future's so bright, Bashar's gotta wear shades. |
A senior Syrian banker said Thursday his country's currency was solid and was able to defend itself against any negative fallouts from the UN report implicating top Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri on February 14. Speaking to reporters, Adib Mayala said the central bank was "able to maintain a stable exchange value for the Syrian pound against the US dollar." He stressed that bank deposits, by members of the public, "have risen despite the current crisis and the threat of imposing economic sanctions against Damascus." He added that, in October alone, the total deposits had reached 108 billion Syrian pounds while the total withdrawals had reached 100 billion SP. He called on the Syrian monetary market to have no fear about the situation of the SP and added that members of the public were now free to buy USD 5000 each. "This gesture on the part of the government has calmed fears about the currency and eased pressure on the SP in the black market," he said. He added that ordinary citizens traveling out of Syria could leave the country with up to USD 3000 while Syrian patients wishing to leave the country for treatment abroad could do so and take away with them up to USD 20,000.