The Lebanese banking lobby has maintained significant influence throughout the five-year crisis, positioning itself as a bulwark against any restructuring likely to threaten its interests. Under the governments of Hassan Diab and Najib Mikati, it systematically blocked attempts to implement fair reform in favor of depositors.But can it do the same under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s Cabinet? Doubts are growing. Behind its apparent serenity, the banking sector fears an approach that would place it at the forefront of the distribution of losses — estimated at tens of billions of dollars and made up of depositors’ savings. Still, it continues to count on the support of MPs to safeguard its interests and put the brakes on any reform that would be detrimental to it.During the Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 parliamentary sessions to examine the...