Bank of Beirut's Chief executive officer, Salim Sfeir, was elected by acclamation as head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL).

Fransabank's General Manager Nadim Qassar was elected as deputy-head.

The association's general assembly also elected 12 new members to its board of directors.

Following his election, Sfeir said that the association will work on fostering cooperation with the government, hoping that it would pay heed to ABL's concerns on any new taxes that may impact banks.

Sfeir said that Lebanon's economy is facing many challenges, pledging to exert efforts to confront them and shield the banking sector.

Sfeir succeeds Joseph Torbey, Chairman and General Manager of Credit Libanais bank.