I About 4,000 people were killed by Israeli attacks, tens of thousands of houses were destroyed or severely damaged. According to the World Bank, reconstruction will probably cost 9.6 billion euros. The state must repair the infrastructure, people, their apartments, companies and agricultural areas. But not only the state is broken, but also most of its citizens.
Lebanon was in a deep economic crisis for six years. In contrast, the masses went to the streets in 2019. Her anger was also discharged against banks: they demolished ATMs and window glasses and sprayed slogans, such as “down with banks!” In buildings.
Banks barricaded their branches. When they opened again a week later, they limited the abolition of money for several hundred dollars a month. Since then, the Lebanese have no longer came to their savings for school education, procurement of housing or retirement. Some people were so desperate that they went to withdraw money with a gun and gasoline.
At the bank, the employee explains to the client how he receives his money now: she will open a new account, to which the bank transfers $ 500 every month. The client could then withdraw his money from this. The investor can gradually return up to 50,000 US dollars for a long procedure. The limit is determined by the Lebanese Central Bank.
So far, the insert has a crisis load
The new government gives hope for improvement from January: Prime Minister Navaf Salam and President Joseph Aun want to carry out reforms. This week, the Finance Minister Yassin Jaber promised to continue corruption in court. He criticized that Lebanese officials used banking secrecy to contain information. Jaber pointed out recent changes to the law on bank secretaries: supervisory authorities should be granted to persecute corruption, a complete understanding.
The Minister of Finance is trying to restore trust in banks and conclude agreements with the International Cash Fund, IMF. Reform laws are an important prerequisite for this. Within the framework of the IMF agreement, Lebanon undertook to gradually return deposits. The government will begin with “small outputs”, which have less than $ 100,000 in the account. This consists of 84 percent of the total number of deposits. “There is not a single banking system in the world that could simultaneously return its money to all inserts at the same time,” said Jaber. But: “We do not cancel the deposits,” he assured.
But this is exactly what Ibrahim is afraid of Abdullah. The 45-year-old football player works as an activist “On the problems of inserts,” he says. “Talking about small screensavers is a way to legalize the theft of our money,” he says about the basin. “If anyone has only 50,000 in his own account, but a thick car and five houses, a person is considered a small insert. This is nonsense. ” Abdalla worked in the states of the Persian Gulf for 17 years and, according to its own statements, saved almost two million US dollars in Lebanon. He does not know how he should never see most of his money again with several hundred US dollars, which he now receives monthly and fears.
This week, the parliament wanted to discuss the draft law on banking links. The initiative to “interview depositors” protests against her. These goals are “to protect banks and compensate them for all the violations committed,” they said, demanding the complete repayment of their funds. The government, private banks and the Central Bank continue to argue about who is responsible and must compensate for the inserts. So far they have a crisis load.