Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the International Monetary Fund has declined to endorse the current draft law governing the recovery of bank deposits.
“The IMF can’t endorse the draft as presented and suggested some changes,” he told Bloomberg TV.
Negotiations are ongoing between the IMF over a financial assistance package, the Lebanese leader said.
Lebanon’s cabinet approved the proposed law last month, which allows depositors to claim up to $100,000 of their funds over the next four years.
In October, economy and trade minister Amer Bisat said Lebanon was edging closer to securing a long-awaited IMF loan programme to revive its struggling economy, but major hurdles remained.
The country has been mired in a debt, economic and financial crisis since 2019, following decades of mismanagement and geopolitical challenges.
In July the World Bank agreed to lend Lebanon $250 million for its most urgent reconstruction needs.
Lebanon’s foreign assets increased from $31.5 billion at the end of June 2024 to $41.7 billion at the end of June 2025, the central bank said in its latest monthly economic and monetary bulletin.

