Tag: debt

Key Lebanese bank pulls out of Association to protect depositors

Al-Mawared Bank announced Friday the suspension of its membership in the Association of Banks as it accused the association of failing to protect the banks and the depositors. The Bank in a statement accused the Association of taking decisions "that are not necessarily in the interest of its members and of the depositors," since the […]

Beirut prosecutor narrowly escaped Riad Salameh lawsuit

Beirut Public Prosecutor Ziad Abu Haidar recused himself Monday from looking into Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's lawsuit, media reports said. Lebanon had opened a probe into Salameh's wealth last year, after the office of Switzerland's top prosecutor requested assistance in an investigation into more than $300 million which he allegedly embezzled out of the […]

World Bank extends partnership scheme for Lebanon by only one more year

The World Bank has extended its Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with Lebanon by one additional year "to advance urgently needed socioeconomic recovery programs targeting the poor and most vulnerable and support urgently needed macroeconomic and structural reforms." In a statement, the world Bank said it has restructured and reprogramed its portfolio by cancelling underperforming projects […]

BREAKING NEWS - Nasrallah makes firey speech defending resistance weapons

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday cautioned rivals anew that their top concern should be the country’s economic and financial collapse, not his group’s controversial arsenal of weapons. “Since 1982, Hizbullah and the resistance have never been stronger -- militarily, politically and popularly… Do not err in evaluation and interpretation nor in taking the […]

Macron, MBS want structural reform in Lebanon

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron have reiterated their call for "structural reforms" in Lebanon. "They reaffirmed the need to implement the structural reforms necessary for the country's recovery, as expected by the Lebanese population and the international community," the French presidency announced after a telephone […]

Lebanese rescue plan goes after central bank debt, weak banks

Lebanon's government foresees cancelling "a large part" of the Central Bank's foreign currency obligations to commercial banks and dissolving non-viable banks by November, according to a financial recovery plan passed by the cabinet on Friday. The document, seen by Reuters and verified as accurate by a minister, was passed by cabinet in its final session […]

Hassan Nasrallah admits defeat but says no majority evident

The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged his party and its allies had lost their parliamentary majority in elections but said no single group had taken it, in his first televised speech since Sunday's election "Unlike the situation in parliament in 2018, no political group can claim a majority," he said. Hezbollah […]

President Aoun says parties exploiting exchange rate in dire times

Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday reiterated the accusation that some parties are “manipulating the dollar exchange rate,” which has been fluctuating in recent days. “Some are manipulating the financial issues and the dollar exchange rate, which is negatively reflecting on citizens, amid reports by local and international experts indicating the presence of sides seeking […]

Grand Mufti defends Lebanese champions rights of depositors

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan on Wednesday called for “preserving people’s deposits and savings,” stressing that “the solutions for the financial and economic crisis should not be at the expense of depositors and their lifelong savings.” The solutions “should be at the expense of those who plunged the country into the current deterioration at […]

Lebanon on brink of World Bank $150 million food loan

Lebanon is close to reaching an agreement with the World Bank in which the international agency would give the crisis-hit country a $150 million loan for food security and to stabilize bread prices for the next six months, the economy minister said Tuesday. Amin Salam said talks with the International Monetary Fund were progressing in […]

Mikati set for Saudi visit, progress of IMF a major Gulf concern

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati is due to visit Saudi Arabia in the next two weeks, a first trip by a Lebanese premier to the Arab powerhouse in almost four years following an unprecedented rupture in relations. The last visit was in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who in 2021 stepped down nearly nine months after […]

Riad Salameh's brother to make bail despite appeals

The Mount Lebanon accusatory body led by Judge Pierre Francis on Tuesday approved a ruling to release Raja Salameh from jail, dismissing an appeal filed by Mt. Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun. The accusatory body also agreed to slash the bail value from LBP 500 billion to LBP 200 billion. Salameh's lawyer had recently said […]

IMF agrees to give Lebanon $3 billion

The IMF announced Thursday that after months of negotiations it reached a staff-level agreement to provide Lebanon with $3 billion in aid to help it emerge from a severe economic crisis. The country has been battered by triple digit inflation, soaring poverty rates, and the collapse of its currency since a 2020 debt default, and […]

Mikati meeting possible replacements to central bank chief

Prime Minister Najib Miqati met in the past days with a number of potential candidates for replacing embattled Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who is facing a host of lawsuits inside and outside Lebanon, a media report said on Friday. The latest European measures against Salameh and some associates are what pushed Miqati to consider […]

IMF in 2-week crisis meeting with Lebanon

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation kicked off talks in Beirut Wednesday as part of a two-week mission aimed at securing progress towards funding for crisis-hit Lebanon. The government is hoping to secure a rescue package to exit a deep financial crisis that started in 2019 and has seen most of the country's population fall […]

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