Private Banking Gets Green Light

Syria’s ruling Baath Party has approved the establishment of private banks for the first time in almost 40 years and took preliminary measures to establish a stock market and to let the Syrian pound float, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency. New banks will be set up either as private joint-stock companies or will be jointly owned by the government and the private sector, the agency said. The steps taken Saturday reflect the country’s recent efforts at economic reform since Bashar Assad became president in July following the death of his father, President Hafez Assad.