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Neither political crises nor financial strains have slowed the hectic advance of Lebanon's biggest business. Although the government enacted its first banking-control code just this year, only one bank has failed—the small Banque Foncière Libanaise, which went down in February. The failure did not faze Beirut's flexible, resilient money men. Since it occurred, total deposits have continued to rise, and the freely convertible Lebanese pound is stronger than ever.