Liquidating the state’s assets is most surely not the only option available to address the ongoing socioeconomic crises, but it is portrayed as such because it is the only one that avails the political-financial class locally. It further rejuvenates the cycle of political exploitation and comes at the expense of sacrificing assistance to the most vulnerable. Nevertheless, what remains unanimous among the majority of parliamentarians is their refusal to let the banking sector (commercial banks and the Central Bank) in Lebanon bear the brunt of the crisis.

The banking sector in Lebanon has shifted from being perceived as the bastion of the country’s economy to becoming a prime culprit in the crumbling of the financial system. Ever since the protests erupted against the political establishment in 2019, local commercial banks have been consistently blamed for Lebanon’s economic collapse, and in many instances physically attacked, vandalised and damaged. 

Lebanon has entered yet another political impasse following the end of President Aoun’s term on October 31st of this year and parliament’s inability to form a new cabinet. Currently, the country is enduring a dual governmental vacuum with no president to appoint a new Prime Minister and a caretaker cabinet that has limited functional capacities.