banks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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 ...

Jaber’s Blunt Truth: The Law that Destroys Banks and Wipe Out Savings

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber did not mince words: “The banks will be the first losers” if the Financial Gap Law is enacted. And if the banks lose, depositors inevitably lose too. The draft law places the full burden of repaying deposits on the banks alone — a move that would inevitably destroy the Lebanese banking sector and wipe out ...

Financial Restructuring: Fadi Khalaf Cautions Against a “Partial” Approach

The Secretary-General of the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), Dr. Fadi Khalaf, has cautioned that any financial restructuring confined to the banking sector is likely to fail unless accompanied by comprehensive state reform. In his editorial for the ABL’s November report, published Monday, Khalaf emphasized that Lebanon’s ...

Iraq Reverses Hezbollah, Houthi Asset Freeze, Calls It ‘Mistake'

Iraq's central bank on Thursday said the appearance of Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis on a frozen assets list was a mistake, and ordered the correction of the official announcement, according to a document seen by AFP. An official gazette issue dated November 17 published a decision about Iraq freezing the assets of ...