Lebanon cabinet passes financial recovery plan -ministerial sources

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters Lebanons cabinet has passed an economic recovery plan designed to pull the country out of a threeyear financial meltdown, two ministerial sources told Reuters on Friday.p

pMinisters agreed the measure in the cabinets final session hours before losing decisionmaking powers, following the election of a new parliament on May 15 that is set to designate a new prime minister. pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe plan includes several measures that are prerequisites for an International Monetary Fund bailout, including a plan to restructure the banking sector and reforming a banking secrecy law. p

pLebanon reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF in April that listed a number of prior actions that the fund said must be implemented before it could reach a full deal.p

pIn late April, the Association of the Banks in Lebanon ABL rejected a draft government recovery plan that it said would leave banks and depositors shouldering the “major portion” of a governmentestimated 72 billion hole in the financial sector. p

pAn ABL spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fridays events. p

pLebanons banks have been major lenders to the government for decades, helping to finance a wasteful and corrupt state that tipped into financial meltdown in 2019.p

pThe collapse has resulted in depositors being shut out of their savings as the local currency lost more than 90 of its value.p

p Reporting by Maya Gebeily Editing by Timour Azhari, Hugh Lawsonp

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