Lebanon hopes for new staff-level agreement with IMF

BEIRUT: Lebanon aims for a new staff‑level agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said the deal hinges on passing the final law needed to address financial‑crisis losses.

Lebanon first signed a staff‑level agreement with the IMF in April 2022, more than two years after its financial system imploded following a decade of profligate spending and corruption in the ruling elite. Implementation of the associated reforms has slunk because of persistent political obstacles.

1. Lebanon aims for a new staff‑level contract with the IMF, contingent on ratifying the concluding legislation required to cover the damage inflicted by the 2019‑onset crisis.
2. The initial roster of commitments was sealed back in April 2022, yet the rollout of reforms has progressed slowly amid legal bottlenecks.

Updated 5 min 6 sec ago

September 28, 2026       19:29

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber has stated that Beirot is seeking a comprehensive staff‑level pact with the International Monetary Fund, noting that a full program will require the adoption of a definitive legal framework to remedy losses from the country’s recent financial collapse.

“Lebanon has taken an initial step by approving the banking‑restructuring statute, which sent a strong signal to both the Fund and the global arena that Parliament and the executive regime are genuinely committed to reform,” Jaber declared in a video release from the Ministry of Finance.

He went on to explain that a definitive staff‑level deal can only be realized once the “financial gap” law is enacted—an instrument designed to allocate losses accrued from the 2019 downturn across the state, the central bank, commercial banks and savers, allowing those whose deposits have been sidelined to recover their capital in stages.

A source close to the negotiation cycle indicated that a provisional staff‑level agreement could be forged today, while another insider anticipated completion by the end of the calendar year.

Although a fully funded IMF programme inevitably demands Board approval, the drafting timeline remains lengthy. Meanwhile, the government submitted a draft financial‑gap bill last year but it has never succeeded at the legislature, illustrating how entrenched political and private interests continue to impede progress throughout the recovery arc.