A demonstrator and a policeman in front of the head of the ABL's residence in Horch Tabet, Feb. 16, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/OLJ)
BEIRUT — The Association of Banks in Lebanon issued a statement on Friday evening denouncing protestors who attacked and set fire to banks in Beirut on Thursday.
"The funds needed to pay off your deposits are not with the banks, so entering them by force ... will not benefit you," the statement said, addressing depositors directly.
Banks have been on open strike since last Tuesday, demanding that Parliament pass a capital control law and decrying the overturn of an appeal allowing the resumption of legal proceedings against Fransabank.
According to financial experts, the bank strike is believed to be contributing to the freefall of the national currency, which fell to a record low of LL80,000 to the dollar this week. Enraged depositors — lead by depositors’ rights group, The Cry of the Depositors — set fire to branches of Fransabank, Bank Audi, Creditbank, Byblos Bank, BBAC and Banque Libano-Française in Beirut’s Badaro neighborhood.
Members of the same group also held a sit-in in Horsh Tabet, a suburb of Beirut, outside the home of Selim Sfeir, the head of ABL.
In its Friday statement, ABL said bank vandalisms will only "harm" depositors, "whether by depriving them of benefiting from automated teller machines or through repair expenses that will increase banking burdens and weaken the banks’ capabilities to return their rights."
In the span of two days, the lira fell from LL70,000 to LL80,000 to the dollar on the parallel market, causing prices to spike. ABL refused to be blamed for the lira's downward spiral, saying that "there is also a lot of frivolity and superficiality in this." In its statement, ABL instead blamed the Lebanese state for squandering depositors' funds.
"Depositors— the banks understand your frustration, but the time has come for you to open your eyes and realize that the funds needed to pay off your deposits are not with the banks, so entering them by force, destroying them, or breaking their contents will not benefit you."
"The time has come for you to realize who wasted your rights and who should direct your arrows and pressure to recover them!!!" the statement continued.
Financial institutions were operating under security restrictions for months after a series of holdups by depositors attempting to forcibly retrieve their foreign currency funds, which have largely been frozen by informal capital control measures since 2019.
Banks also came under fire earlier this week, with a series of charges and summons filed by Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Ghada Aoun.