Lebanon's banks to extend closures following security incidents

Initial shutdown was called after armed depositors held up several banks last week

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  A Lebanese policeman stands guard next to a bank window broken by depositors who had demanded access to their money. An activist group said it will continue to organise bank raids to help people retrieve their trapped savings. AP photo

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  A closed Byblos Bank branch, where a man was reportedly detained after allegedly holding up the bank to access his own savings, in Ghazieh, Lebanon. Reuters

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  A man identified as Abed Soubra inside a Blom Bank branch, in the Tariq Al Jdideh neighbourhood of Beirut. Reuters

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  Lebanese depositors inside a Blom Bank branch in Beirut. A group of customers, at least one of whom was armed, took hostages in the bank, demanding access to their savings. They were reportedly able to withdraw $20,000 from an account of one of the depositors before they left. EPA

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  An armed woman and a dozen activists reportedly broke into a Beirut bank branch to retrieve more than $13,000 from what she said were her trapped savings. Lebanon's cash-strapped banks since 2019 have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency, tying up the savings of millions. AP Photo

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  A woman, identified as Sally Hafez, appears to be carrying a gun at a Blom Bank branch in Beirut, in this screengrab taken from Al Jadeed footage. Reuters

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  A woman is comforted as she is seen through a shattered window of a Blom Bank branch after a hostage-taking incident. Reuters

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  An ATM is covered with diesel fuel, vandalised by angry depositors. AP photo

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  Members of the Lebanese security forces stand around a toy gun allegedly used by depositors in a hostage-taking situation, at a Blom Bank branch in Beirut. EPA

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  People gather near a Blom Bank branch during an hostage-taking situation in Beirut. EPA

Banks in Lebanon have extended a three-day closure that came after several lenders were held up last week by armed depositors trying to retrieve their savings.

The banks began their initial three-day closure on Monday following a decision last week that was motivated by security fears.

A banking sector source told The National that banks would remain closed on Thursday. Later on Thursday evening, a statement from the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) did not give a time frame as to when the closures would end.

In justifying the shutdown extension, the ABL cited the continued risks that bank employees and customers face. It also pointed to an “absence of any procedures or even assurances” from the government and security forces that would ensure a safe working environment.

The ABL board had met at noon on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

Announcing the initial closures last week, the ABL said it came “after the repeated attacks on banks and the physical assaults on bank employees and their dignity”.

An economic collapse described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history, has plunged much of Lebanon into poverty and eroded more than 90 per cent of the currency's value.

There are severe shortages of basic essentials including bread, medicine, water and electricity.

In 2019, banks imposed informal capital controls, severely restricting access to hard currency and compounding economic difficulties faced by people in Lebanon.

It has forced some desperate depositors to take matters into their hands. Many in Lebanon have praised the actions of the armed depositors.

Sali Hafez, who held up a bank branch with a toy gun in Beirut’s Sodeco neighbourhood last week, managed to get $13,000 out of her savings.

Still, after an emergency meeting last Friday, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that “reclaiming rights in this way … can break the system and make the rest of the depositors lose their rights”.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered the release of four people who had been detained for their involvement in some of those bank hold-ups last week.