Banks strike threatens business owners, employees

Banking sector's strike threatens business owners

Many industrialists, business owners, and merchants can no longer open import credits, even for basic and essential materials.

These industrialists are looking for a solution to deal with suppliers abroad directly rather than through banks to keep the work going since the bank strike halted transfers to and from Lebanon through them.

The issue concerns not just how factories will run and how work will be done for all industrialists in Lebanon; it also affects the employees who get their salaries from banks and who will have problems if ATMs are shut down.

Moreover, if Sayrafa exchange platform were also stopped, it would affect employees in the public sector who use it to withdraw their salaries in US dollars.

"Let the officials know the value of the banking sector in the country, as there is obvious indifference on their part," sources from the Association of Banks said, justifying their adherence to the strike decision.

These sources emphasized that the Association may reverse such a step only if promising developments occur over the next few days.

However, in light of judicial decisions that they described as discretionary, banks in Lebanon reiterated their demands over using bank checks as a payment method for depositors' savings.

They also urged the approval of the Capital Control Law and the Banking Restructuring Law as a solution.

On the other hand, some sources explained that the banks' threat of a complete strike on Wednesday is only a ploy to exert pressure to adopt the Capital Control Law in the upcoming parliamentary session.