Counting the costs: Lebanon's varied banking commissions spark controversy

When Lebanon was experiencing "normal banking days," Banque du Liban did not intervene in the commissions charged by banks to their clients. 

It was considered a private relationship between the bank and the client, where the client could either accept these commissions or choose to deal with another bank.

However, since the current banking situation is not sound and difficulties are faced by every client wishing to transfer their account from one bank to another, mainly due to the proliferation of complaints related to high commissions, particularly in dollars and "fresh dollars," Banque du Liban took action. 

It issued a circular requesting that no new commissions be imposed that were not in place before October 31, 2019, preparing a list of these commissions to be published and prohibiting the imposition of any commissions not authorized in this list. 

The Banking Control Commission is responsible for monitoring this matter.

The commissions charged by banks are not uniform among all banks; each bank determines the value and type as it sees fit. 

Some commissions in certain banks have reached $100 on some accounts and $25 for a certificate for an embassy, for example. Banking sources stated that banks need these commissions to meet various demands, including securing dollars for ATMs, employee salaries, and IT companies.

They argued that if they do not want to pay these commissions, they should return the bank's money. These sources also noted that some banks may have exaggerated raising the value of certain commissions, which can be addressed with those banks. 

Implementing this broadly across all banks could lead banks to cease providing these services.

The Association of Banks will discuss this circular, although when some banks contacted Banque du Liban for clarification, they were told that consultations had taken place with the association. 

It later became clear that consultations had only occurred with some banks that had imposed high commissions.