Banks say that they
do not need a bailout

Ready to discuss repayment

schedule with government

“The Lebanese banks are not asking for a bailout because we don’t need it, our sector is sound, all we need is that the government repays [the money] it borrowed from us and at the right time,” said Salim Sfeir Chairman of the Association of Banks (ABL).

He said that the banks are ready to discuss a repayment procedure with the government that will be acceptable to both parties and that will take into consideration the country’s capacity to settle the debt.

Sfeir, who was addressing the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, said that ABL would like to be part of the solution of the crisis.

He said that financial stability and economic growth cannot be achieved when the government unilaterally decides to evade repaying its debt, or when it takes ownership of private assets illegally, or when it intervenes in private contracts.

According to Sfeir, the government’s plan is not an economic but an accounting plan as it tries to rebalance the budget in a static way.