Depositors lining up in front of a Fransabank branch in Beirut, Sept. 26, 2022. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
After Lebanon’s banking restructuring and loss-distribution efforts gained momentum in recent weeks, old points of tension within the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) have resurfaced.Since ABL’s most recent extraordinary session in late January, the sector appeared to show renewed unity: Salim Sfeir, CEO of Bank of Beirut, was authorized to run for a third term as president. A revision of the bylaws also allowed the board to expand by adding two new representatives of smaller banks, who feared that larger institutions might negotiate a crisis exit to the smaller’s detriment.But the first signs of a subtle rift have emerged in recent weeks. The trigger: an aggressive media campaign led by outlets close to SGBL president Antoun Sehnaoui. The campaign has been targeting the banking secrecy reform draft — approved by Parliament on...
After Lebanon’s banking restructuring and loss-distribution efforts gained momentum in recent weeks, old points of tension within the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) have resurfaced.Since ABL’s most recent extraordinary session in late January, the sector appeared to show renewed unity: Salim Sfeir, CEO of Bank of Beirut, was authorized to run for a third term as president. A revision of the bylaws also allowed the board to expand by adding two new representatives of smaller banks, who feared that larger institutions might negotiate a crisis exit to the smaller’s detriment.But the first signs of a subtle rift have emerged in recent weeks. The trigger: an aggressive media campaign led by outlets close to SGBL president Antoun Sehnaoui. The campaign has been targeting the banking secrecy reform draft — approved by Parliament...