Patricia Glad wrote in "Nidaa Al-Watan" an article titled "The Treasury' for the Authority and Banks: Final Warning!", which stated: The visit of the U.S. Treasury delegation to Lebanon, along with the warning it made regarding Lebanese authorities to expedite the completion of a comprehensive reform plan, carries significant implications. For the first time, official representatives from the U.S. administration have directed a sharp message that seems to serve as a "final warning" to Lebanese political and monetary authorities and the banking sector, urging them to take responsibility and put an end to the violations within the banking system, including by influential members from political and economic elites. The delegation may have hinted during its meeting with the Banking Association about its non-compliance with U.S. laws, and adherence to transparency and the "Know Your Customer" principle, despite the association's assertion of its full commitment to this.
But what does the U.S. Treasury mean by violations? Former Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani confirmed to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that "the violations referred to by the U.S. Treasury include the discrimination practiced by banks between depositors and the arbitrary dealings and transfers, as well as violations in the application of regulatory rules and laws." He pointed out that "the Treasury seeks greater clarity in vision... In short, it considers that there are violations by certain influential individuals who benefit from the banking sector and experience differential treatment compared to other depositors." In other words, "if these violations exist, they must stop; if they have occurred, they should be reviewed and accountability should be based on them; and if they are not occurring at some banks, transparency should be diligently maintained to restore confidence in the sector as a whole."
Hasbani considered that "the visit of the U.S. Treasury delegation to Lebanon is extremely important and indicates the U.S. side's keen interest in everything happening financially in general and in banking specifically in Lebanon." Here, the American delegation emphasizes the passage of legislations and laws such as "capital controls", stating that this cannot occur without corresponding protections for depositors’ funds; depositors should not be restrained, with their assets held without any protections or reforms in the public sector... Otherwise, "there can be no acceptable partial solutions; instead, there is insistence on achieving a comprehensive and integrated plan in light of the absence of actual steps towards reforms," Hasbani affirms, noting that "everything we see are merely general reform headlines, essentially just words without actions from a state that has not made any tangible achievements, with a government that has remained paralyzed for months and a Parliament that cannot work piece by piece but must provide a comprehensive vision for a recovery strategy that can be practically translated into laws."
