The Place de l'Étoile, in the downtown area of Beirut, where the Parliament and the Grand Serail are located. (Credit: P.H.B.)
Two out of three steps are done. Parliament has passed the end of bank secrecy, and the Cabinet has approved the banking sector restructuring bill. Now, the government faces the hardest part: deciding how to divide over $70 billion in financial losses. The key question is who will pay — bank executives and shareholders, the state and central bank (BDL), or depositors — who have been at the center of a five-year deadlock blocking all previous plans.On April 14, just before meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber struck a reassuring tone. He said the government had agreed with the IMF that it could publish the banking sector restructuring law but delay putting it into effect until the "financial abyss" law is also published.He explained the delay was to give...
Two out of three steps are done. Parliament has passed the end of bank secrecy, and the Cabinet has approved the banking sector restructuring bill. Now, the government faces the hardest part: deciding how to divide over $70 billion in financial losses. The key question is who will pay — bank executives and shareholders, the state and central bank (BDL), or depositors — who have been at the center of a five-year deadlock blocking all previous plans.On April 14, just before meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber struck a reassuring tone. He said the government had agreed with the IMF that it could publish the banking sector restructuring law but delay putting it into effect until the "financial abyss" law is also published.He explained the delay was to...
