The IMF mission arrived in Lebanon on Monday, November 9, 2026 for a new round of negotiations on banks and the « financial breach » law. The Ministry of Finance announces an opening session on Tuesday 10 November at 9 a.m. in Beirut. Discussions are scheduled to continue until Friday, 13 November. No agreement or financing is announced at this stage.
IMF and Lebanon meet around banking reform
Ernesto Ramirez Rigo led the delegation of the International Monetary Fund. On the Lebanese side, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber leads the negotiating team. The Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Bsat, participates with the Bank of Lebanon. Representatives of the Presidency and the Presidency of the Council, as well as experts, complement this team.
The programme communicated on Monday distinguishes the arrival of the mission from the beginning of the sessions. The inaugural meeting will be held at the Ministry of Finance. Exchanges will then continue at the Phoenicia Hotel over four days. The closing session is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. These times correspond to Beirut time.
The Ministry places two files at the centre of this visit: the reform of the banking sector and the law on the financial breach. His press office presents the work as a step towards resolving the banking crisis and restoring deposits. It also wishes to advance the legislative provisions necessary for an agreement with the Fund.
Losses and repayments at the heart of trade
The issue goes beyond the organisation of banking institutions. It concerns the treatment of losses and the resources that will be used to repay clients. The IMF has already set out its criteria on its previous mission to Beirut from 15 to 18 September.
In its communiqué of 18 September, the Fund requests that shareholders and subordinated creditors absorb losses before depositors. It also requires a repayment scheme compatible with the viability of banks and the sustainability of public debt. These principles provide a framework for discussion. They alone do not set the amount recoverable by each saver.
On 1 October, the IMF recalled the conditions for an agreement at its service level. He cited, inter alia, an effective banking resolution framework, an appropriate law on the financial breach and a sustainable fiscal trajectory. Progress in governance was also part of the announced conditions.
An appointment prepared for several weeks
The November trip was expected. On 15 October, Athanasios Arvanitis, Deputy Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, announced this prospect. He had placed confidence in banks and debt sustainability among the issues at stake in the consultations.
Trade also continued in Lebanon. On 5 November, Joseph Aoun and the Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Karim Suaid, discussed the project of financial stability and recovery of deposits. The minutes of their meeting referred to the BDL consultations with the government, IMF and commercial banks. The Panel did not present a definitive allocation of losses.
The mission arrived on Monday now gives a precise schedule to this new phase. The Department’s announcement does not yet include any published negotiated text or individual return schedules. The next appointment is the opening session of Tuesday morning, before four working days devoted to bank records.
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