NNA - Joint parliamentary committees on Monday held a session over the Capital Control bill chaired by Deputy House Speaker, Elias Bou Saab. 

“It has turned out that we unanimously agree on the Capital Control method to guarantee that old deposits preserve their actual value,” Bou Saab said in the wake of the session. 

“We’ve reached an understanding over the texts that confirm that old deposits shall keep their actual value (…) and discussed the means to restore confidence in the country,” he added. 

Bou Saab also noted that a decision has been made to form a committee of financial experts to be tasked to follow up on the capital control bill and decide on its working mechanism.

“It is true that the Minister of Finance is a member of it, but the bulk of the work will be done by a group of financial experts, who will be appointed by the government as a whole,” Bou Saab added, noting that their appointment is not solely limited to the prime minister.

“We have reached a formula that protects old money and new deposits, and it will be discussed in the next session. We have entered a serious stage,” Bou Saab explained. 

“There remains a point involving lawsuits and complaints against banks. There are many ideas that will be proposed to us to strike a balance. We do not want funds to travel outside Lebanon and delay implementation; we seek to protect depositors in Lebanon, yet at the same time, we encourage investments,” the deputy house speaker added. 

=============R.H.