The headquarters of the Association of Banks in Lebanon. (Credit: Magaly Abboud)
BEIRUT — The Association of Banks in Lebanon said in a statement Tuesday that “after the warning strike, which lasted two days, ABL announces that Lebanese banks are going to resume their usual work starting Wednesday morning.”
Here’s what we know:
• On Friday, ABL announced a two-day strike starting Monday, in response to increasing pressure on the banking sector.
• The strike followed Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun’s decision to freeze the assets of five large Lebanese banks (Bank of Beirut, Bank Audi, SGBL, Blom Bank and Bankmed) and those of members of their boards, while she investigates their transactions with the central bank. She also issued travel bans on bank executives. On Mar. 17, Judge Aoun issued another ruling, freezing all the assets of Creditbank and banning its chairman Tarek Khalife from leaving the country.
• Prime Minister Najib Mikati reacted to the announcement of the strike by calling for a cabinet meeting on Saturday to address the tensions between the judiciary and the banking sector. Following the session, Mikati said that Justice Minister Henri Khoury had been tasked with addressing “shortcomings” in the judiciary in relation to the judicial orders that froze the assets of commercial banks in the country.