Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Economy Minister Amer Bisat, and BDL governor Karim Souhaid, at the Grand Serail on Aug. 29, 2025. (Credit: Grand Serail/X)
The draft law on restoring financial balance and returning deposits — aka the financial gap law — is fueling tensions between Lebanon’s central bank and several government parties involved in its final drafting. This is although discussions on its main principles between the central bank, the Finance Ministry, and prime minister Nawaf Salam’s economic and financial team began several months ago and had led to preliminary agreements on most of its key provisions.“The Lebanese delegation’s failure in its discussions with the International Monetary Fund [IMF] in Washington last month has complicated things,” said a concerned minister. This setback has produced new substantive disagreements between, on the one hand, the vision of BDL Governor Karim Souhaid, and on the other, that of his government partners involved in drafting the draft law,...
The draft law on restoring financial balance and returning deposits — aka the financial gap law — is fueling tensions between Lebanon’s central bank and several government parties involved in its final drafting. This is although discussions on its main principles between the central bank, the Finance Ministry, and prime minister Nawaf Salam’s economic and financial team began several months ago and had led to preliminary agreements on most of its key provisions.“The Lebanese delegation’s failure in its discussions with the International Monetary Fund [IMF] in Washington last month has complicated things,” said a concerned minister. This setback has produced new substantive disagreements between, on the one hand, the vision of BDL Governor Karim Souhaid, and on the other, that of his government partners involved in...
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