The Special Investigation Commission (SIC) against money laundering and terrorism financing issued its annual report detailing its activities in tracing money from illegal activities in Lebanon in 2017. Established by Banque du Liban as an independent legal entity, the SIC's mandate is to investigate suspected money-laundering operations and to monitor compliance with the rules and procedures of Law 318, the anti-money laundering law that was enacted by the Lebanese Parliament in April 2001 and that was replaced by Law 44 in November 2015. 

The report indicated that the SIC received 597 suspected cases in 2017. It received 479 cases, or 80.2% of the total from local sources, and 118 cases, or 19.8%, from abroad. In turn, the SIC referred 250 suspected cases to the judicial authorities, while 83 cases are still pending and the remaining 264 cases did not fall within the framework of Law 44. Further, authorities lifted the banking secrecy on 48 cases, with six of those cases referred from foreign governments and organizations and 42 cases from domestic sources. The remaining 202 cases were related to information requests. Overall, the SIC investigated 514 out of 597 cases or 86.1% of the total in 2017, relative to 84.9% of suspected cases in 2016, 77.5% of cases in 2015, 73.6% of cases in 2014, 84.7% of cases in 2013 and 67.3% of cases in 2012.

A survey conducted by opinion polling and consulting firm Gallup about job satisfaction in 128 countries shows that 30% of respondents in Lebanon said that they have a "good" or a "great" job, compared to 27% of respondents globally and 21% of surveyed participants in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. The share of Lebanese who consider that they have a "good" or a "great" job is the 52nd highest globally, similar to the share in Chile, Germany, Mexico, Montenegro and Spain. Also, it is higher than the share in Argentina, China, India, Malaysia, Mongolia and Venezuela (29% each), and lower than that in Ireland, Moldova, Paraguay and Uruguay (32% each). In addition, the share of Lebanese who consider that they have a "good" or a "great" job is the sixth highest among 15 MENA countries.

In parallel, the survey indicated that 25% of respondents in Lebanon consider that they have a "good" job, higher than the global and regional averages of 23% and 18%, respectively. It added that 5% of respondents in Lebanon consider that they have a "great" job, higher than the global and regional averages of 4% and 3%, respectively.

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI) affirmed at 'B' Lebanon's long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign ratings, and maintained the 'stable' outlook on the long-term ratings. It attributed the affirmation of the sovereign ratings to Lebanon's improved medium- to long-term growth prospects following the CEDRE conference that was held in Paris in April 2018. It noted that the $11bn in commitments made at the CEDRE conference in the form of reform-conditional soft loans and grants are credit positive, as they would improve growth prospects, accelerate the pace of economic and fiscal reforms, and help the country cope better with the socio-economic toll of hosting the large number of Syrian refugees. Also, it said that its rating action takes into account the relative stabilization of domestic political risks and improved policy-making, as well as the country's stable buffer of foreign currency reserves that provides adequate coverage to the external debt.

The agency indicated that the ratings are supported by Lebanon's adequate external liquidity, supportive investor base and strong donor support, stable non-resident deposit flows even during episode of political and security shocks, as well as by the government's perfect track record of public debt repayment. But it said that the ratings are constrained by Lebanon's elevated public debt level, large financing needs, limited fiscal flexibility, socio-economic challenges, the slow pace of economic and fiscal reforms, as well as by persistent local and regional political risks.