The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced the return to a strike beginning on the morning of Tuesday, March 14, 2023, demanding "swift legal measures to put an end to the malfunction in adopting contradictory standards in issuing some rulings that deplete the remaining funds belonging to all depositors, not just some at the expense of others, and to address this crisis rationally, fairly, and definitively, with the state specifically bearing its responsibility in this regard."
In a statement, it referred to its previous statements highlighting the need to correct the malfunction in some arbitrary judicial decisions against it. Regarding what it viewed as a first step in the right direction by the Public Prosecutor, it expressed cautious optimism that it would be followed by further steps in the same direction, restoring judicial decisions to their known previous standards of justice, efficiency, neutrality, and equality.
It stated: "Unfortunately, the banks were justified in their cautious stance, as new arbitrary judicial decisions were issued in recent days, again applying double standards, requiring banks to accept debt payments owed to them in foreign currency from borrowers via checks drawn on the Banque du Liban or in Lebanese pounds based on an exchange rate of 1,500 pounds per dollar, while requiring banks to pay or convert deposits in foreign currency in cash and in the same currency for the benefit of some depositors at the expense of others."
It considered that "these judicial decisions did not take into account the fundamentals of banking operations." It emphasized that "banks have not left a legal avenue to demand correcting this malfunction without pursuing it, but to no avail."
It concluded: "In light of the above, the Association of Banks in Lebanon finds itself compelled to return to the strike, demanding swift legal measures to put an end to this malfunction in adopting contradictory standards in issuing some rulings that deplete the remaining funds belonging to all depositors, not just some at the expense of others, and to address this crisis rationally, fairly, and definitively, with the state specifically bearing its responsibility in this regard."
