Lebanon under pressure: IMF sets reform conditions before aid

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Mariella Succar 

With or without an agreement, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is imposing its reform conditions on Lebanon’s financial situation.

While aware, along with Arab and international stakeholders, that the moment for implementing reforms coincides with the disarmament issue, the pressure on Lebanon remains, confirming that no loans or investments will be made without reaching an agreement with the IMF.

On this basis, the IMF is involved in the details of reform laws. For example, it has called for an amendment to the bank restructuring law that would prevent representatives of economic bodies and the Deposit Guarantee Institution from sitting in the second chamber of the Higher Banking Authority, the body that will decide the fate of banks after their evaluation.

The IMF considers that the mere presence of these representatives is, in practice, representation for the banks themselves due to their connections, which the fund says could lead to conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has prepared a draft law incorporating these amendments in anticipation of its submission and approval by Parliament. 

The question remains whether the amendment will be approved in the first plenary session or alongside the so-called “gap law,” which has yet to be introduced.

Banking sources reiterated that there are attempts to exclude banks and their international advisor, Ankura, from proposed solutions, as if they alone are responsible for the financial crisis. 

Meanwhile, the state and the central bank continue to be actively involved in these solutions, even though the IMF describes the crisis as unprecedented, requiring, according to banking sources, equally unprecedented measures from the fund.