Lebanon’s Central Bank is declining: is liquidity safe for hospitals?

Only Circular BDL 573 continued on its way to implementation, until it was in the sights of the institutions of the medical sector. Yesterday, it was the first reaction of five university hospital institutions, which issued a majestic statement, declaring their apology for not receiving patients due to their inability to continue providing curative and surgical medical services in the next period.

The largest university hospitals raised the roof of their confrontation with the state, and responded to the circular with a fatal blow: depriving patients of their right to treatment, and actually began with the cancellation of a series of specific operations, which it was announced by the Private Hospital Owners Union, Suleiman Haroun. Therefore, the state, represented by the Banque du Liban, which issued the circular, had no choice but to make some concessions in an attempt to absorb the anger. Hours after the announcement, the Banque du Liban issued a statement in which it assured hospitals that the banknotes – imposed by the circular – were insured to hospitals, provided that “the banks concerned did so” to pay for medical supplies. necessary. He pointed out that this decision is the result of an agreement between him and the Association of Banks, out of concern to “provide the services that the Lebanese need”, and they are services that “we must not hesitate to ensure them.” With the central announcement of the text of the agreement, the Association of Banks issued a statement in which it reaffirmed the content of what was expressed in the “central” statement, indicating that “the Association of Banks is willing to provide cash liquidity in Lebanese pounds to hospitals in exchange for checks and bank cards. “
However, despite these two statements, it does not seem that the picture has become clearer for hospitals, since the obsession for them today is “How will all this translate?”, According to Haroun. According to the latter, hospitals have no opinion of what has been broadcast, “because we don’t have to say dirty to become standard.” Your fear stems from the mechanism that banks will use to ensure that liquidity. Does this mean that “importers can take cash checks that we deposit in the bank? Or do we need to go to the bank and withdraw the cash to give to the supplies? There is no clear answer, but as of now, Aaron says, if what is required is “that we withdraw the cash, that means they did nothing.” However, “we are waiting to judge the intentions.”
For its part, the Association of Importers of Medical Supplies considered that the content of the statements issued was “incomprehensible”, according to Captain Salma Assi. Although this union does not deal directly with the decision, it does indirectly, since today it is awaiting the response of the hospitals before adopting what is required for it. However, Asi expresses an opinion on what was issued, surprising how the statement hints at the possibility that “hospitals withdraw cash and work to transfer it by car, and what this means in terms of danger, and then hand it over to us to return it! to the bank! If this mechanism was foreseen, he asks Aady: “What did the Banque du Liban do then?”
Until now, neither hospital owners nor importers of supplies understand what the central statement says and, therefore, they wait for the correct answer on the mechanism before the 48-hour period expires. Either it confirms the exclusion of the health sector from the circular, or the next step is inevitable. This is what both parties say.

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