While the Lebanese government is in desperate talks with the IMF to receive billions of dollars in support, the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) deems the government’s plan as “not an economic plan but an accounting practice that failed to address the roots of the crisis,” as reported by Ad-Diyar.
Opposing it, ABL has submitted its own approach to getting Lebanon out of the crisis and promised to help find a solution that will work for the betterment of the country.
Therefore, on May 20th, ABL shared its ‘Contribution to the Lebanese Government’s Financial Recovery Plan’ document in both Arabic and English.
In the document, ABL wrote that until now, it has not “associated [with] the ongoing work and in particular has not been consulted before the release of the Financial Recovery Plan on April 30th.”
Hence, resting on provisioned IMF support, ABL’s ‘ambitious economic vision’ for Lebanon puts forth its suggestion of immediate response and needed structural reforms.
ABL said that it will “[address] the external financing needs and [put] the medium-term fiscal and debt path on a sustainable footing while avoiding an internal debt default that would have damaging consequences on the Lebanese people and on confidence.”
It also plans to launch the “long-overdue structural reform” of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth “as the result of economic diversification”.
ABL expressed that it “recognizes that Lebanon’s economy has been stuck for many years in a vicious economic cycle.”
Will its plan reverse the damage of years of corruption?
