Reforms unlocked with banking secrecy lift: Lebanon expands access to bank records to trace crisis roots

Report by Lea Fayad, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi 

Lebanon's Parliament passed key amendments to the banking secrecy law with an overwhelming majority of 87 votes in a general session, marking a significant step in the country's financial reform agenda.

The new law allows for broader access to banking information, aiming to hold accountable those who benefited from financial engineering schemes, capital flight, or subsidy misuse.

The updated legislation introduces retroactive application over 10 years, enabling authorities to investigate bank accounts dating back to 2015—a year widely seen as the beginning of Lebanon's financial collapse, notably due to questionable central bank policies.

The amendments do not give blanket authority to lift banking secrecy. 

Only seven official authorities are permitted to request access to bank accounts: previously allowed were the judiciary, the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban (BDL), the Finance Ministry's tax administration, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission. 

Added to the list are the BDL itself, the Banking Control Commission, and the National Deposit Guarantee Institution. 

Under the revised law, these seven official bodies will now be authorized to directly request detailed information from banks regarding suspect accounts and their beneficiaries. 

An additional provision introduced during the session allows resident auditors and audit firms to access this information upon request from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a move designed to meet IMF conditions tied to Lebanon's broader reform commitments.

Though the law's retroactivity was set to 2015, some MPs—particularly from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM)—voiced objections, calling for the timeline to stretch back to the early 1990s when they argued the roots of Lebanon's financial crisis began. The objection was not adopted.

Legal sources say information obtained under the new law will be referred to the appropriate judicial authorities, such as the Financial Public Prosecutor's Office, to take necessary legal measures.

The law will officially take effect upon publication in the official gazette this coming Thursday. If needed, the Cabinet may issue further decrees—on the recommendation of the Finance Minister and in consultation with BDL—without delaying the law's implementation.

Seen as a cornerstone of Lebanon's financial reform package, the amended law is tightly linked to the planned banking sector restructuring law and the long-awaited financial gap law. It is expected to aid in distinguishing between legitimate and illicit deposits as part of the broader effort to return stolen or misused funds.

Yet, the accurate measure of success will lie in execution.