Lebanon registers its worst financial loss

(MENAFNLebanese banks have recorded their worst financial loss to date, with a joint net after-tax loss of USD770.4 million in 2019, compared to a net profit of USD1.44 billion last year.

This was announced after the recession in economic activity which fronted the considerable
protests and street closures in the final quarter of the previous year, ending with the resignation of Saad Hariri's government on October 29 and the verdict of Hassan Diab's government to delay payments of USD1.2 billion in Eurobonds in March this year.

As a result, banks were required to make up significant provisions on expected credit losses which greatly impacted their 2019 prosperity.

A banker informed Arabian Business that the financial outcome for 2020 could be even worse than 2019, as financial flows from expatriates continue to decrease and confidence in the banking system is getting even worse.

The anonymous banker, declared: "Lebanese banks face major challenges, the worst is yet to come, as Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has told Lebanese banks in August to increase their capital by 20 percent by the end of February 2021, or they have to exit the market in case of failure."

The banker also noted that he predicts that several banks will go out of business by that date except if the central bank extends the deadline.

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