Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Monday that the financial gap draft law that was recently approved by the government has been sent to parliament, pledging transparency and full repayment for depositors after years of crisis. 

In a televised address, Salam said that he had ordered the text to be immediately published on the Prime Minister’s Office website and its X account, allowing all Lebanese citizens to review it directly “with full transparency, comprehensively, and without any intermediary.” 

Salam said the move was intended to dispel misunderstandings and ambiguity surrounding the bill and to counter what he described as hasty judgments and preconceived positions that had been promoted for weeks. He expressed confidence that a serious reading of what the draft law does stipulate would address the concerns of citizens who have accumulated deep anxiety, and even fear, over the erosion of their rights during the past six years of financial collapse. 

The prime minister said the cabinet had placed fairness to depositors at the top of its priorities, while also taking into account the Lebanese economy’s need to return to financial order and to rebuild a sound banking sector; a prerequisite, he said, for any recovery. 

“After years of procrastination, obstruction and chaos, this draft law seeks to pull Lebanon out of the current situation, which is exposing the country to growing risks that must be avoided with responsibility, wisdom and courage,” Salam said. 

He argued that repaying deposits in phases was preferable to further delaying decisions on their fate, warning that continued postponement would lead to further erosion of deposits and deprive Lebanon of the chance to recover and benefit from Arab and international support. 

According to Salam, the draft law provides for the full repayment of depositors’ funds without any reduction. It also imposes penalties on those who transferred money abroad in the six months preceding the financial and banking collapse, as well as afterward, and on those who benefited from financial engineering operations and from what he described as excessive profits and bonuses. 

The bill also calls for the continuation of forensic and accounting audits, he said, countering claims by some critics that such scrutiny would be halted. 

Salam said the draft law gives particular priority, for reasons of fairness and social justice, to depositors with accounts of $100,000 or less. Under the proposal, these depositors — who make up about 85% of all account holders — would recover their deposits in full at nominal value within a maximum of four years. 

All other depositors would likewise receive $100,000 over the same four-year period. The remaining balances would be repaid through bonds backed by assets of the central bank, Banque du Liban. While these bonds would only mature after several years, Salam said their holders would receive an annual return of 2% of the total bond value during that period. He added that the bonds would be tradable before maturity, notably on the Beirut Stock Exchange. 

Acknowledging the limits of the proposal, Salam said the draft law was “not ideal” but represented “the best possible option” to restore deposits and halt the economic freefall. He said the government had worked within available means and based its plans on carefully studied projections. 

“We are not selling illusions to the Lebanese people, nor are we concealing facts from them,” he said, stressing that his administration, which calls itself the “Government of Reform and Rescue,” was committed to honesty and to living up to public trust. 

Salam said the government would remain open to dialogue “today, tomorrow and the day after.” 

The prime minister also called on members of parliament, representatives of economic bodies and civil society to take what he described as a national stand that puts the public interest above all other considerations. 

“We are open to any proposals aimed at improving this draft law, but we cannot accept criticism that offers no alternatives,” Salam said, warning that such an approach would only prolong the crisis, continue the depletion of depositors’ funds, paralyze the banking sector and undermine the economy.