Lebanon’s Banks to Reopen on Monday

Lebanon’s Banks to Reopen on Monday

Lebanon's banks will reopen on Monday, with each taking their own measures, the country's banking association said in a statement on Sunday.

The country's banks have shut for about five days following a spree of bank hold-ups by frustrated depositors seeking access to their frozen savings.

On September 16, several banks were held up in Lebanon, where commercial banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since an economic crisis took hold three years ago, leaving much of the population unable to pay for basics.

Lebanon's banks association announced a three-day closure over security concerns and urged the government to pass laws to deal with the crisis. The closure was extended later on.

Authorities have been slow to pass reforms that would grant access to $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund, and on Friday failed to pass a 2022 budget.

Without a capital controls law, banks have imposed unilateral limits on what most depositors can retrieve each week in US dollars or the Lebanese lira, which has lost more than 95% of its value since 2019.