Lebanon: waiting lines, bank money, and losses for clients and merchants

Hala Al-Khatib - Beirut

Banks in Lebanon have become a weekly destination for all classes of the Lebanese people, after they have paid installments for their depositors and even employees who cannot get their full pensions, and people have exchanged the phrase "going to take my money from the bank."

Waiting is a daily feature, not less than an hour at least, if the applicant or employee is lucky, and sometimes exceeds three hours, especially in the last days of the month or after the official holidays.

One of the women even took bunches of parsley with her and worked to purify her while she was waiting at the bank, and the video spread after one of her expectants photographed her on the mass media.

Bank directors and employees are not allowed any permit, but leaks and private conversations with customers indicate the complexity of the situation in a frightening cumulative manner. If the bank issues any statement, its content is a denial of bankruptcy.

The director of a large bank in Lebanon says to one of the depositors that the situation will get worse if the daily withdrawals of the dollar continue at this pace, and the banks will reach a period when the dollar cannot be paid.

Since the beginning of the crisis, withdrawals and internal transfers began without deposit, and the transfer to a destination outside Lebanon needs to be previously transferred to it prior to the crisis, accompanied by documents that show the actual state due for transfer.

And the manager adds that in the bank that manages one of its branches, it was allowed at the beginning of the crisis to withdraw 3 thousand dollars a week, then went down to a thousand and then 750 and then five hundred dollars, and within two months for those who deposited more than 50 thousand dollars, while the small depositors can withdraw between three hundred and four hundred dollars.

Emphasis on withdrawals and transfers
One of the depositors - Karim Hassan, who is a director of a television production company - tells Al-Jazeera Net that he withdrew most of his money before the crisis intensified and legalization of payment, and he swears that he will not be deposited in a Lebanese bank throughout his life.

As for what remains in the bank, he goes weekly to withdraw three hundred dollars, since he is not considered one of the big depositors, and he pays his employees either in Lebanese pounds at the expense of the dollar with 1,800 pounds or checks in dollars.

And it indicates that most employees prefer "cash" (in cash) because the check will also be suspended in the bank and withdraw it in installments per week.

As for financial transfers, which are prices for programs and productive services for his company, as he cooperates with Arab and foreign TVs, they are also suspended in the bank, and he can withdraw them only at the rate of three hundred dollars per week, which hinders his work.

Bilal Grady - who is a merchant who imports cosmetic products from abroad - says he was unable to transfer money to the companies he usually buys from, which prompted him to collect money by buying dollars from the market, withdrawing three hundred dollars every week, traveling and paying cash to companies.

This affected his work movement, and reduced his profits by a very high percentage, because he did not add the price of the products to the buyers. As for his employees, they were holding in Lebanese pounds, and despite the limited withdrawals even in pounds, he managed.

"The rule of the bank shall be extinguished."
One of the depositors says that a client quarreled with the bank manager who puts his money in it, because he refused to give him six thousand dollars from his account to use travel expenses on his trip with his family to Europe on the holiday, even though he provided the bank with proof of plane reservations and hotels, and said that canceling the travel cost him losses Great because some hotel reservations were not returned.

George Assaf - who has about half a million euros in a bank as an account of his shipping company - says he cannot transfer money abroad, which makes him have to travel many times to settle the situation.

He added that the last time he went to take his weekly share of five hundred dollars, security did not allow him or all customers to enter, and they said that he could register his name and number with one of the employees until the cash was available and they could call him.

It is noteworthy that the ceiling of withdrawals varies from one bank to another, but the wait is very similar, as are the customers ’anger, the screaming of some of them and the lack of staff ruse, which causes a fight in some banks between customers and employees and the security forces.

It is noteworthy that the slogan "Down the rule of the bank" was repeated in all the arenas of the revolution when it was at its height, and is still being frequented by the Bank of Lebanon and other banks.

The inability to obtain money from their accounts made many economize on their vacation and evening so they settled in the houses due to the lack of sufficient money, and some were satisfied with going to the Martyrs Square on New Year's Eve to attend the free evening prepared by the revolutionaries.

Spreads
As a result of the economic situation, hotel reservations have fallen by 90% this year, according to the chairman of the Hotel Owners' Association, Pierre Achkar.

The demand for restaurants on New Year's Eve decreased by 70 to 80%, according to the Captain of Restaurant and Café Owners Tony Rami, due to the reduced purchasing power of citizens.

It remains that the difference between the official dollar price (1514 pounds) and the market price at the cashiers - which escalates daily (currently talking about 2500 pounds per dollar) - makes citizens rush to the banks to take advantage of this difference in light of the rise in consumer prices in general.