IMF staff called for further changes to Lebanon’s deposit recovery framework on 18 September after concluding a Beirut mission. The team welcomed amendments to the separate Bank Resolution Law. However, it said depositors should not bear losses before shareholders and junior creditors.
Lebanon’s cabinet approved a financial gap bill in December 2025 to distribute losses from the country’s banking collapse, Reuters reported. The proposal covered the state, central bank, commercial lenders and depositors. It sought to enable savers locked out of their accounts to recover money gradually.
LOSS ALLOCATION REMAINED CENTRAL
Staff also said a sound and sustainable banking sector should emerge from the restructuring process in a way that safeguards fiscal and financial sustainability. Its assessment was a preliminary staff statement, not an Executive Board decision.
Reuters reported opposition from depositors and the Association of Banks in Lebanon, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam defended the legislation as a step towards restoring confidence.
WASHINGTON TALKS WERE PLANNED
L’Orient Today reported the arrival of the IMF delegation on 15 September. Led by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, the mission ran from 15 to 18 September and discussed the macroeconomic outlook and progress on key economic and financial reforms.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber planned to visit Washington with Salam before the end of September for meetings with IMF and World Bank leaders, according to L’Orient Today. The IMF said it remained committed to supporting a comprehensive reform agenda that could be supported by an IMF arrangement.
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