Lebanon Banks Reopen As Protests Ease

Large queues form outside banks from early morning and people rush in as soon as doors opened to cash in their salaries and make transfers

Lebanon banks reopen as protests ease

The unprecedented popular push to remove a political class seen as corrupt, incompetent and sectarian, had kept the country on lockdown since October 17.

Lebanon banks reopened for the first time in two weeks Friday as the country began to return to normal following mass demonstrations for radical political change.

The unprecedented popular push to remove a political class seen as corrupt, incompetent and sectarian, had kept the country on lockdown since October 17.

Large queues starting forming outside banks from early morning and people rushed in as soon as doors opened to cash in their salaries and make transfers.

Tellers struggled to handle the flood of customers trying to cram inside bank branches, as queues spilt onto the streets.

Lebanon protesters keep up demands for change after PM resigns

President Michel Aoun acknowledged Saad Hariri's resignation as prime minister but asked his government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed

In the capital Beirut, a handful of activists briefly stormed the headquarters of the Association of Banks, before they were forced out by riot police.

There has been widespread concern that the reopening of the banks will be accompanied by a devaluation of the Lebanese pound but the central bank said the currency was still pegged to the greenback at 1,507 pounds to the dollar.

In the parallel market however, the exchange rate is expected to be higher.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri submitted his government's resignation in response to pressure from the street, despite warnings from some of his senior coalition partners against such a move.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday said ministers in the next government should be picked for their skills, not their political affiliation, appearing to endorse demonstrators' demands for a government of technocrats.

Aoun has asked Hariri's government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new one can be formed, but Lebanon has entered a phase of acute political uncertainty, even by its own dysfunctional standards.

With a power-sharing system organised along communal and sectarian lines, the allocation of ministerial posts can typically take months, a delay Lebanon's donors say the debt-saddled country can ill afford.

Growth in Lebanon has stalled in the face of the political deadlock of recent years, compounded by the 2011 breakout of civil war in neighbouring Syria.

It stood at around 0.2 percent in 2018, compared with more than 10 percent in 2009. It is expected to remain stagnant this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Economists are also deeply concerned by the country's crippling debt of $86 billion.

This equates to roughly 150 percent of gross domestic product, one of the highest rates in the world.

Eighty percent of that debt is owed to Lebanese commercial banks or the central bank.

For all the latest banking and finance news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.
RECENT NEWS

UAEs Maseera Acquires Egyptian Fintech ADVA

The move marks a critical milestone in Maseera’s regional expansion strategy Read more

Oman Mandates IBAN For Domestic Transfers From July 2025

The move follows the Oman Central Bank's implementation of the IBAN system for international transfers from March 31, 2... Read more

Egypt And Jordan Thank The European Parliament For New Financial Aid

The European Union members recently approved loans worth $4.4 billion in three instalments to Egypt and $555 million to... Read more

Standard Chartereds SC Ventures To Replicate Asia, Africa SME Model In GCC

SC Ventures to bring its successful SME building strategy in India, South East Asia and Africa to GCC, and plans to rol... Read more

UAE Central Bank Revokes Licence Of Dynamics Insurance Brokers For Regulatory Breaches

Dynamics Insurance Brokers "failed to comply with the licensing terms and requirements issued by the Central Bank and w... Read more

Eid Al Fitr Holidays In The GCC; Dubais 100 Most Influential People; UAE Petrol Prices To Change; Royal Baby Announced – 10 Things You Missed This Week

Eid holidays, the Dubai 100, UAE petrol prices, Royal Baby named, Palm Jebel Ali investments and more top news stories ... Read more