Dozens of Lebanese bank customers have protested outside three commercial banks in Beirut, setting fires near the branches to express anger over years of restrictions on access to their savings.
The demonstration was organised by the Depositors’ Outcry Association, which described the action as a warning over the continued freezing of bank deposits.
“We carried out a warning protest today outside three banks in the Horsh Tabet area after our deposits have remained frozen for seven years,” the group told DPA.
Protesters were seen lighting fires in front of three bank branches during the demonstration.
Lebanon’s financial system collapsed in 2019, prompting banks to impose informal capital controls that sharply limited withdrawals, particularly from foreign currency accounts, as the country faced a severe shortage of foreign reserves.
Many depositors have since been unable to freely access their savings, while the Lebanese pound has lost around 90 per cent of its value during the country’s prolonged economic crisis.
During the protest, depositor Ali Rizk criticised the Lebanese authorities, shouting: “Where are the deputies? What is the government doing for us? How are we supposed to live? We die a hundred times every day.”
Recent forecasts suggest Lebanon’s GDP could contract by between seven and 16 per cent this year. Inflation data shows prices rising by 19 per cent year on year, with energy and transport recording the steepest increases.
In the absence of social safety nets, Lebanese citizens are left to bear the brunt of the country’s compounding crises.
Last year, Lebanon’s Economy Minister Amer Bisat said depositors would receive their funds “over time”, as part of an overhaul of the Lebanese financial system.
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