The uncertainty and chaos derived from the political and economic situation has been classified as one of the worst crises worldwide since the mid-nineteenth century.
Between Monday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 21, the banks of Lebanon will close in protest after violent incidents and even armed attacks by angry customers, who want to withdraw their savings..
The situation has its origin in the crisis that the country is going through and the limitations on the withdrawal of funds from bank accounts.
Specifically, the Association of Banks of Lebanon has said in a statement that “after the repeated attacks against banks and physical attacks against bank employees (…) and taking into account the risks, the board of directors has decided to close the banks between on September 19 and 21.
Along with it, the guild apologized to customers for the inconvenience that could cause this decision.
“The safety of employees and customers is the main priority of banks, as well as the interests of depositors, which they try to guarantee as much as possible in the midst of the difficult circumstances that the country is going through,” they explained.
Thus, they rejected “violence in all its forms” and indicated that “violence is not and will not be the solution.”
“The solution is to pass laws to deal with the crisis as soon as possible, since addressing systemic crises like the one the country is going through requires comprehensive plans that take into account all the causes and address them comprehensively,” they concluded.
Attacks on banks in Lebanon
The association’s announcement this Friday took place on a day in which at least seven violent incidents have been recorded in banks in the country.
That prompted acting Interior Minister Basam Maulawi to call an emergency meeting of the Central Security Council to discuss necessary security measures.
These types of events are part of “coordinated” actions by associations for the defense of clients’ rights, as explained by the lawyer and activist Rami Ollaik in statements to the Lebanese newspaper ‘L’Orient le Jour’.
Since 2019, Lebanese banks have imposed harsh restrictions on the withdrawal of foreign currency in the face of the serious economic crisis in the country.
That has effectively prevented many people from withdrawing their savings, at a time when nearly three-quarters of the population has fallen below the poverty line.
The country has been mired in a serious crisis for years, a situation deepened by the explosions of August 2020 in the port of the capital, Beirut, the coronavirus pandemic and the situation at the political level, with tensions that have paralyzed the Government for months.
Furthermore, the Lebanese pound has slumped in recent months, leading to the world Bank to affirm in June 2021 that the national crisis is one of the worst recorded worldwide since the mid-19th century.