The Lebanese bank restructuring bill is back in the spotlight after reaching the Cabinet, amid widespread resentment among bank owners, who have begun preparing for the countdown to sift through the sector and the withdrawal of unqualified from the market.

"Annahar" newspaper saw that the banking crisis in Lebanon is unique, because the political authority is a major partner in causing the monetary, financial and economic collapse.

The biggest concern is the decision to liquidate banks, which will inevitably lead to the seizure of the wealth of shareholders, board members, senior managers, and signatories. This is a bitter cup that no one wants to drink.

The newspaper pointed out that some banks are preempting the approval of the bank restructuring law by liquidating their assets in favor of major shareholders to preserve their gains, fearing what their banks' bankruptcy may cause them to lose in the context of paying depositors' money from the proceeds of selling the bank's assets.

In this context, the expert in banking risks, Dr. Mohammed Fhaily, considered in a conversation with "Annahar" that "the banking crisis in Lebanon has brought us to a stage where banks are classified between those who are able to continue serving the economy, which supported their existence in Lebanon, and between other banks, barely covering their operating expenses with a negative capital par excellence; they are known, whether the bank restructuring law or the financial regulation law has been issued or not. If the work of the Banking Control Commission is activated and it is enabled to return to practicing its tasks, it will seize them. In this case, it is obvious, either they are merged with others or acquired by other capable banks, or their assets are liquidated."

Fhaily said: "In anticipation of this, some bankers are trying to smuggle some assets by selling them and controlling their revenues for individual benefit and not for the benefit of the bank. It has become known that some banking institutions have established independent companies that used to own the properties that they used to take in fulfillment of the debt, and they pay the price of the property to the bank in an accounting process only devoid of any actual enhancement of the bank's capital."

He believed that "the reform laws that are under study, such as capital control and bank restructuring or financial regulation, do not necessarily address the bankruptcy of banks as a basic material in them."

Fhaily stressed that "there is no banking sector today, but banks. It is necessary to reconstitute a sound banking sector. The most important thing is to have full confidence from the components of the private sector and the components of the financial markets and correspondent banks and credit rating institutions."

"This requires laws," he concluded.