‘Banks don’t care’: Lebanese scream for their dollars

‘Banks don’t care’: Lebanese scream for their dollars

BEIRUT “” Inside a Lebanese bank, a woman screams for her salary. A man pounds his fist on the marble counter, demanding the teller release $200. In crisis-hit Lebanon, this is the new normal.

"It's a shocking experience," said Khaled Taki, a 68-year-old consultant whose bank last week refused to hand him any dollars from his account.

"You have money in the bank, you go there to get it, and they tell you: No."

A grinding liquidity crunch has hit Lebanon, where unprecedented protests since October 17 have railed against the political class and a deepening economic crisis.

Since September, banks have restricted the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn or transferred abroad.

Although no formal policy is in place, most have arbitrarily capped withdrawals at around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter restrictions.

With ordinary depositors bearing the brunt of these measures, bank branches have transformed into arenas of conflict.

Fistfights, shouting and tears abound, as cash-hungry clients haggle tellers to release money trapped under informal capital controls.

Security personnel pace nervously, eying angry customers.

Large crowds form near the ATMs outside until the machines suddenly stop dispensing cash.

"I have seen a woman begging “” literally begging the bank employee “” and going on the