Does Lebanon Have Bank Deposit Insurance? You’ll Never Guess How Much

A law put forth in 1967 that was never updated (which seems to be one of our many national pastimes — of course, after crossing highways on foot and reserving parking spots with plastic chairs) stipulates that The National Institute for the Guarantee of Deposits (NIGD) will insure only 5 million LBP (about $3,317 unless the currency depreciates) of Lebanese and foreign currency deposits in commercial banks in the event of a bank ceasing operations or going bankrupt.

This is specified in Article 14 of Law 9/5/1967 which can be found here in full and explicitly states:

تشـمل الضـمانة، لغايـة مبلـغ خمسـة ملايـين ليـرة لبنانيـة رأسـمالا وفائـدة، مجمـوع حسـابات
الودائع العائدة لمودع واحد لدى اي مصرف ويعتبر مركز المصرف وفروعه مؤسسة واحدة

At the time the law was passed, 5 million LBP spoke. Hell, it even yelled and gave you a lap-dance! A far cry from today’s market equivalent which would deplete many people’s savings in the event of a bank going under.

The future of most banks in the sector are still unknown, and their ability to continue making payments is questionable. But there you have it, if the banks go under and you have around $300,000 in the bank, you’ll get 5 million lira and a kiss on the cheek (if you’re lucky).

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