Al-Mawarid Bank announces suspension of membership in Association of Banks in Lebanon

Al-Mawarid Bank announces suspension of membership in Association of Banks in Lebanon

NNA - The Media Department at AM Bank s.a.l. has issued the following press release:

“Ever since the inception of the “October 19” crisis, AM Bank has been feeling that the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) has been taking decisions that greatly diverge from the interests of its members, thus harming the banking sector and depositors alike.

The series of inappropriate decisions started with the closure of banks for two consecutive weeks during the month of October 2019. The unprecedented-in-history closure constituted the first blow that undermined the long-standing trust between banks and their clients. That trust was the cornerstone of the success and prosperity of the banking sector in Lebanon, and the ABL managed with its closure decision to erode decades of hard work in an instant.

Such inappropriate decisions at the ABL were frequent over the past two years and are still common now, most recently in what relates to the correspondence addressed to the International Monetary Fund. The letter dated June 21, 2022, and sent by “Decision Boundaries” to Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, the Mission Chief for Lebanon at the IMF was sent without a discussion of its contents. Most ABL member banks were not privy to it, nor