The Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Karim Said, announced, “The Central Bank is not an opponent of the government, nor affiliated with it, and the first duty of the independent Central Bank is not to oppose the government, but to maintain the discipline that ultimately protects the government from the consequences of its transgressions, because when the state loses monetary discipline, not only does its currency weaken, but confidence weakens, investment weakens, growth weakens, the economy weakens, wealth dissolves, and savings evaporate.”

He explained in a massive meeting at the headquarters of the Maronite League headed by its president, Engineer Maroun Al-Helou, that the independence of the Central Bank is to ensure the existence of a single institution within the constitutional structure of the state capable, when necessary, of saying “no.” No to excessive borrowing. No to financing the structural deficit by issuing cash. No to inflationary financing. No to short-term political interest when it threatens long-term national stability. “No” to lending to governments without any restrictions, conditions, contract, or contract draft from the funds of others – that is, from the funds of depositors specifically.

He pointed out that “Lebanon did not fail financially because it lacked laws, but rather failed because it gradually stopped respecting them.” He considered that “the most important and complex legislation is the law on financial regulation and deposit repayment, which is in the process of being studied between the government and the International Monetary Fund, with the Central Bank participating in some aspects of it from time to time,” stressing that “this law will not receive the support of the Bank of Lebanon if it is not based on firm legal foundations, a realistic economic approach, and social justice.” Right. Among these basic goals are:

1) All parties: the state, the central bank, and commercial banks shall bear the economic burdens of the crisis, while sharing the obligations between them in a realistic and fair manner.

2) Depositors – and their priority is small depositors (i.e. less than $100,000) – do not bear a high cost and benefit from the fastest payment methods according to the availability of liquidity.

3) Giving the Lebanese banking sector – before others – a real opportunity to recapitalize and restructure to continue providing services and participating in the process of economic revival.

4) Holding all those who carried out suspicious transactions accountable and recovering the stolen funds to increase the liquidity stock with the aim of repaying deposits.”