The Association of Banks in Lebanon did not give further details about the suspension. The strike began Feb. 7 in protest of a recent court ruling that forced one of the country’s largest banks to pay out two of its depositors their trapped savings in cash.
The decision comes as many Lebanese, including civil servants, are expecting to get their monthly pay. Salaries are typically paid out toward the end of the month, through bank accounts.
Lebanon’s banks have been hard-hit by the country’s historic economic meltdown that began in October 2019 and have since imposed informal capital controls under which depositors have been able to withdraw only small amounts of their savings at an exchange rate far lower than the one used on the market.
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