This is Beirut - Banque du Liban

After the Vote: Exposing the Gap Law’s Broken Promises

Claudia Groeling, 2025-12-29 19:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam International Monetary Fund Lebanon Banque du Liban Gap Law Banks

Lebanon’s cabinet on December 19 approved one of the most controversial pieces of legislation since the country’s financial collapse in 2019, adopting the so-called “Gap Law” in a narrow vote that has reignited public anger and raised serious concerns among economists, legal experts, and international observers. Backed by 13 ministers ...

The IMF Sets an Example Through Lebanese Depositors: Unpacking One the Most Dangerous Laws in the Country’s History

This is Beirut, 2025-12-21 15:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Banque du Liban International Monetary Fund economy banking system banks

What the government presented as the ‘Financial Gap Law’ is not merely a piece of financial legislation; it is a text that lays the foundations for the post-adoption economic order. It does not conceal its objective but states it calmly: ending a crisis that has lasted for years instead of resolving it, writing off deposits instead of ...

Financial Gap Law: Farewell to a Lifetime’s Savings… Where Is Karim Souhaid?

This is Beirut, 2025-12-20 15:55 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Banks Banque du Liban Gap Law

The draft Financial Gap Law, also known as the Financial Regularization Law, is set to be discussed at the Cabinet table on Monday. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has praised the project, presenting it as the first comprehensive legal framework to recover deposits and address the financial gap in a systematic and fair manner, within available means, ...

The Syndicate of Traders and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages Denounces the Gap Law

This is Beirut, 2025-12-20 14:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Banque du Liban economy Lebanon Banks Gap Law Traders

The Syndicate of Traders and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages issued a statement on Saturday denouncing the Gap Law, which they said shifts the state’s responsibilities onto traders and businesses. “While respecting the draft presented by the Prime Minister concerning financial restructuring and the recovery of deposits, the currently ...

Deposits at Risk: Gap Law Shifts Burden on Depositors and Banks; State Off the Hook

Antoine Saade, 2025-12-20 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Banks Lebanon Banque du Liban Gap Law economy

The fate of depositors’ funds lies at the heart of Lebanon’s financial crisis. It is not merely a matter of figures or balance sheets; it directly affects the lives of thousands of families and undermines the country’s overall economic stability. Amid the ongoing financial collapse and the sharp erosion of the national currency’s ...

BDL: IMF Concerns on Financial Gap Law Are Risky and Inconsistent

This is Beirut, 2025-12-18 14:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Central Bank of Lebanon International Monetary Fund Lebanon Banks Banque du Liban

The Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) issued observations regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recent comments on the financial gap bill. BDL described the IMF’s remarks as risky and inconsistent with accounting and financial standards, noting that there is no historical precedent in a systemic crisis where a state first erodes the ...

“Gap Law” for Beginners

Mario Chartouni, 2025-12-18 12:59 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Banks International Monetary Fund Lebanon Banque du Liban Hezbollah

For several months now, the so-called “Gap Law” (law on financial gap) has been presented as the key to resolving Lebanon’s banking crisis. Its proponents argue that it would help restore order to the financial system and pave the way for an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But behind this technical ...

Lebanon Debate: Gap Law Risks Bankrupting Banks, Wiping out Depositors

This is Beirut, 2025-12-18 12:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Lebanon Banque du Liban Nawaf Salam

The following article, originally written on Thursday by Lebanon Debate, is reproduced here in full to highlight their analysis of the proposed financial gap bill and its potential impact on depositors and the Lebanese banking sector: “Once again, Nawaf Salam’s government is rushing to pass the financial gap law before the end of the year, ...

Association of Banks Criticizes Draft Gap Law

This is Beirut, 2025-12-15 11:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon opposition BDL Banque du Liban Association of Banks

The Association of Banks in Lebanon addressed an open letter to the three presidents, as well as to all Lebanese citizens—particularly depositors—in which it expressed its opposition to the contents of the draft law on the financial gap, whose ninth version was recently leaked. The Association said that “the draft contains serious ...

Financial Gap Threatens Depositors Amid Government Inaction

Nadia al-Hallak for Houna Loubnan, 2025-12-13 20:12 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Banque du Liban Middle East

Amid ongoing government debates over the draft law addressing the financial shortfall and the fate of deposits, concern is growing within economic and banking circles over the plan’s potential direction. Each new draft leak highlights a deep disagreement—over how losses should be allocated and the extent of the burden the state must shoulder ...

Yassine Jaber: Your Own Words Confirm the Crisis Is Systemic!

This is Beirut, 2025-12-13 16:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Banque du Liban Central Bank of Lebanon

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber’s recent statements stand out for his comparison of the Lebanese financial crisis with those in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal. In this comparison, he is once again off the mark. In fact, Cyprus experienced only a conventional banking crisis, while Greece and Portugal faced financial crises ...

Could the IMF’s debt plan for Lebanon unintentionally bolster Hezbollah?

Ian Talley, 2025-12-09 17:50 - Reading : 10 minute(s)

Lebanon International Monetary Fund Hezbollah Amal Banque du Liban

The International Monetary Fund risks unintentionally reviving a war-weakened Hezbollah by insisting Lebanon push heavier losses onto the banking sector than critics say is necessary — a move they argue would entrench the cash economy that Iran’s terror-designated proxy thrives on. At issue is how the IMF wants Lebanon’s ...

Banque du Liban