The association said in a statement that the decision to strike came after a meeting it held to discuss “the recent judicial summons and its impact on the regularity of banking work and the rights of depositors.”
The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced on Monday that Lebanese banks will start an indefinite strike starting Tuesday, but with automatic teller machines still working to provide basic services, and the association called on the Lebanese authorities to take long-awaited measures to solve a stifling financial crisis in the country.
The association said in a statement that the decision to strike came after a meeting it held to discuss “the recent judicial summons and its impact on the regularity of banking work and the rights of depositors.”
The association asked the Lebanese authorities to pass the “Capital Control Law”, which “sets controls on withdrawals and transfers abroad”, in addition to the “Bank Restructuring Law”.
The Lebanese financial system collapsed in 2019 after decades of wasteful spending, corruption and mismanagement by the ruling elites, which led to the inability of most depositors to freely access their money and plunged thousands into poverty. The crisis has since worsened.
In April of last year, the government reached a draft agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout plan worth three billion dollars, but after almost a year the government was unable to complete the steps required to conclude the agreement, prompting the International Monetary Fund to describe the level of progress as ” Too slow.”
Among the International Monetary Fund’s conditions for the rescue package are the establishment of capital controls and the restructuring of banks.
In its statement, the association called for “passing an accelerated, repeated law that completely and retroactively abolishes banking secrecy,” which will allow banks to share customer data with the authorities and the judiciary in order to investigate financial irregularities.
Customers sued banks to obtain their deposits due to capital restrictions.
There were also allegations of financial irregularities, including that influential people and bank stockholders transferred money abroad during the crisis at a time when most people could not.
Last year, Lebanon’s parliament introduced amendments to the strict banking secrecy law to allow Lebanese authorities, including tax authorities and the judiciary, greater access to customer data.
But bankers said the new law does not allow them to provide data prior to the time it was passed.
