Kanaan: No reform without accountability... Finance Committee approves key provisions in banking law

The Finance and Budget Committee made new progress in discussing the draft law on banking sector reform, approving a number of key articles up to Article 21, with deliberations set to continue at a new session to be held the day after tomorrow, Thursday.

The session was chaired by committee head MP Ibrahim Kanaan, with the participation of Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Banque du Liban Governor Karim Souaid, as well as a number of MPs and representatives of the concerned parties.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Kanaan said the committee had approved provisions granting the Higher Banking Authority full powers, in addition to mechanisms for restructuring the banking sector and recapitalization, within the framework of a reform plan aimed at addressing the financial crisis.

He noted that the committee also stressed the need to compel politicians, officials and public employees who exploited their influence to carry out financial transfers abroad after October 17, 2019, to return those funds, in a step he described as essential to strengthening accountability.

Kanaan stressed that the International Monetary Fund's focus is on reforms linked to financing programs, while the Lebanese state's priority is to implement comprehensive structural reforms, including accountability, the protection of rights, and restoring citizens' trust — especially that of depositors — in the state and the banking sector.