Parliamentary subcommittee approves banking resolution bill

The parliamentary subcommittee tasked with examining amendments to the banking sector resolution bill approved the text on Monday, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. This bill, considered one of the main reforms expected from the Lebanese government, must now be adopted by the Finance Committee before being submitted to Parliament.

Two days ago, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told L’Orient-Le Jour that he expected the banking resolution bill to be submitted to Parliament before the end of the month, specifically by July 30.

The banking resolution law sets the legal framework for organizing the restructuring of the sector, which has been dysfunctional since the onset of the crisis that erupted in 2019. Its adoption, and more importantly, its implementation, are among the tasks Lebanon must undertake to convince the IMF to allow it to enter into one of its financial assistance programs, in order to finance its recovery and persuade international partners to fund the reconstruction.

Ideally, the government should make significant progress before the IMF and World Bank annual meetings next October to hope to quickly unlock a process paralyzed since 2020, following the failures of the governments of Hassan Diab and then Najib Mikati to resolve the problem of banking restructuring and loss distribution.