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Amid harsh political and economic conditions that have been made more difficult and complicated by the spread of the Corona pandemic, and to clarify questions raised by some depository representative committees (such as the Lebanese Depositors Association and others) on the procedures attributed to banks, the Association recommends that member banks do the following:
First: Address the closure of depositors’ accounts with the flexibility required in these difficult circumstances and in consultation with their owners, as well as preserving and even expanding citizen accounts, especially those of public and private sector employees, to facilitate the process of collecting their salaries and other monetary compensation they receive.
Second: With regard to fresh money, and as previously circulated by the association based on the relevant circulars of the Banque du Liban, banks are bound by the freedom of the holders of these accounts to dispose of them through withdrawals and transfers in the same deposit currency, including the use of credit cards and transfers to students abroad, without any deduction of the same, except for the commissions recognized in said banking operations.
Third: As a reminder, and in application of the circulars of the Banque du Liban, banks will maintain, with respect to retail loans denominated in dollars, the acceptance of payment in Lebanese pounds at the exchange rate at which the banks negotiate with the Bank of the Lebanon. . As for the other loans, these must be repaid in the currency of the loan or the adoption of the exchange rate that allows the reconfiguration of their value by buying the equivalent from the Central Bank. Of course, in this case the need for the bank to revert to the guarantor’s account, if any, is denied. The client who owns the debt is obliged to respect the repayment schedule agreed with his bank.
