This is Beirut

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

Antoine Saade, 20/12 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 ...

Gap Law: When the State Organizes Its Disengagement at the Expense of Depositors

This is Beirut, 19/12 22:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Nawaf Salam IMF Banks

Under the guise of structural reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the “Gap Law” currently being prepared in Lebanon is raising growing concern. Presented as a technical tool designed to bridge the country’s massive financial shortfall, this law is now seen by many experts as a mechanism allowing the state to evade its ...

A ‘Gap Law’ Built on Liquidation: Can Investors Still Trust the System?

LilianeMokbel, 19/12 18:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Gap Law Lebanon Economy Banks

The mindset behind the proposed “Gap Law” is one of liquidation. Targeting constitutionally protected assets will erode the country’s ability to attract investors.

Depositors Rally Against Government’s Proposed Financial Gap Plan

This is Beirut, 18/12 16:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Nawaf Salam Council of Ministers Depositors Banks

A protest organized by the Depositors’ Associations Gathering and the Association of Expatriate Depositors was held on Thursday, bringing together representatives of depositor groups and unions in a unified show of opposition to the government’s proposed financial gap draft law. Demonstrators said the proposed legislation unfairly shifts the ...

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

This is Beirut, 18/12 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, 18/12 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, 18/12 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, ...

Urgent Appeal to Stop the Financial Conspiracy Threatening Depositors and Banks

This is Beirut, 18/12 12:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Banks International Monetary Fund

Lebanon Pulse published a sharply critical message from a depositor addressed to Nawaf Salam, Yassin Jaber, and Amer Bsat, accusing them of playing a central role in what the text describes as a conspiracy that began before 2019 and has culminated today with severe consequences for depositors and the banking sector. In the message, the author ...

Parliament Approves $250 Million World Bank Reconstruction Loan

This is Beirut, 18/12 11:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanese Forces Lebanon Banks Hezbollah Israel Reconstruction

Despite a boycott by Lebanese Forces and Kataeb MPs, Lebanon’s parliament met Thursday morning and approved a World Bank loan intended to support reconstruction in the war-torn south. Lebanon has been working with the World Bank on a roughly $250 million loan under the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project aimed at supporting efforts to ...

Yacoubian Defends “Gap Law” as Depositors Decry Losses

This is Beirut, 17/12 20:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Paula Yacoubian Banks Lebanon

In a video shared by the page El Haweyah, MP Paula Yacoubian defended the so-called “gap law” bill, presenting it as an indispensable reform and an “achievement” of Nawaf Salam’s government in the context of a prospective agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to her, the bill would constitute the third ...

Depositors’ Cry Association: Yassine Jaber, Accomplice or Powerless in the Banking Crisis?

This is Beirut, 15/12 11:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Banks Nawaf Salam Yassine Jaber Finance Minister Lebanon

The Depositors’ Cry Association sharply criticized Finance Minister Yassine Jaber over the proposed Financial Gap Law, accusing him of failing to protect bank customers’ funds amid Lebanon’s ongoing banking crisis. In a statement, the association questioned whether Jaber is “a conspirator on depositors’ money” or simply ...

Financial Gap Threatens Depositors Amid Government Inaction

Nadia al-Hallak for Houna Loubnan, 13/12 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 ...

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