The ugly truth: How will larger depositors be repaid and what is the deposit recovery fund?

How will the government repay large depositors?

If your bank balance is above $100,000, your situation is not that simple...

First, if you have benefited from high-interest rates after 2015, those interest gains will be deducted from your deposit.

Moreover, if you have more than $1 million, you will be required to provide evidence to the bank about the source of these funds, according to the latest version of the government's plan.

What will happen to your remaining deposit?

- A portion of it will be converted into bank shares, worth $12 billion.
- Another portion will be converted from dollars to LBP at a rate lower than the market rate, worth $4 billion.
- Everything else will be transferred to the Deposit Recovery Fund.

This fund will be managed by a committee comprising private sector representatives and large depositors, and it will be financed by:

- The remaining funds in banks after paying deposits under $100,000.
- The recovered stolen, smuggled, and suspicious funds.
- A percentage of banks' profits.
- The plan also mentions the possibility of the state contributing to the fund through its properties and institutions, after improving them by granting contracts for their management to the private sector.

However, to date, there are no figures or estimates for the funds that this recovery fund can secure. There is opposition to the state's participation in the fund, arguing that any funds derived from state assets must serve all the people and future generations, not just large depositors.

In any case, the government's plan is still just ink on paper.

The problem in Lebanon is not the lack of plans – there are plenty of them. The problem lies in their implementation.

Three and a half years have passed since the crisis began, and as usual, nothing has been implemented.