title: Moody's warns new Lebanon political vacuum would be 'credit negative'
text: BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rating agency Moody s warned on Tuesday that reopening Lebanon s political vacuum after the resignation on Saturday of prime minister Saad al-Hariri would damage the tiny country s credit rating.   A drawn-out political stalemate less than a month after the government passed its first budget in 12 years would undermine recent institutional improvements and expose the banking system to a loss in confidence,  it said in an emailed note.   Any loss of confidence in the banking system or in the  stability of Lebanon s institutions leading to a significant slowdown in private sector deposit inflows or outright outflows would be credit negative,  it added.  Lebanon s central bank governor, finance minister and banking association head have all issued statements assuring that Lebanon s monetary and financial situation is stable.  The country s fragile economy has one of the world s highest debt-to-GDP ratios and is underpinned by its banking system.  Hariri resigned in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, taking Lebanon s political elite by surprise, and plunging Beirut into a political crisis.  President Michel Aoun has said he will not accept Hariri s resignation until he returns to Lebanon to explain his reasons, putting off the difficult political consultations among Lebanese factions to form a new government.  As the most influential politician in the Sunni community, which in Lebanon s sectarian system must fill the position of prime minister, Hariri has no obvious successor.  