Lebanese depositors smash up, burn Beirut banks

[Husires]

Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighborhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said.

A bank in the Badaro neighborhood smouldered as firefighters sprayed water, while riot police stood nearby with shields.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/lebanese-depositors-smash-up-burn-beirut-banks/101987326

What is happening in Lebanon is strange, as depositors cannot access their money, and with the increasing loss of the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 98% of its value since the collapse of the financial sector in the country in 2019, depositors will be forced to withdraw their money and transfer it before its value turns to zero, as The amount of one million pounds may have represented a value 4 years ago, but it is not worth anything at the present time.

Not far from the Lebanese pound compared to stablecoins, deposits on centralized exchanges and other central sectors of the cryptocurrency.

[coupable]

The crisis of Lebanese depositors does not seem to have an end soon, with the corruption of the political system, which is unable to save the country. 
While some see that the solution is in a new financial rescue package from the World Bank, everything that is happening proves that political corruption is Lebanon's problem.  Today even the World Bank refuses to give them new aid.  Lebanon had received a financial aid package in April 2022, and it has not produced any results since then.

[Hydrogen]

Similar events in nigeria.

Riots erupt in Nigerian cities as bank policy leads to scarcity of cash

Angry protesters attack ATMs and block roads in frustration at lack of new banknotes days before election

Wed 15 Feb 2023

Rioters have attacked bank ATMs and blocked roads in three Nigerian cities as anger spilled on the streets over a scarcity of cash, just days before the country’s general election.

Nigeria has been struggling with a shortage in physical cash since the central bank began to swap old bills of the local naira currency for new ones, leading to a shortfall in banknotes.

Banks have limited access to cash for withdrawals because of a scarcity of the new notes, and some businesses refuse to accept old naira, causing huge queues, angering customers and disrupting businesses.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/angry-protests-erupt-across-nigeria-against-scarcity-of-cash

Then there was a lebanese man, last year who robbed a bank to withdraw his own money. Which he desperately needed to pay his father's medical bills.

Man who took hostages demanding his own money becomes public hero in Lebanon

Public rallies around gunman who surrendered after bank agreed to give him funds for father’s medical bills

11 Aug 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/11/gunman-takes-hostages-at-beirut-bank-to-try-to-free-his-trapped-savings

There have been many similar stories in news cycles over the last few years. Although, it would appear that the majority of people do not remember them.

These types of events usually begin abroad. Eventually, finding their way onto the shores of the united states. I wonder if this type of crisis would be different in the USA?

[coupable]

These types of events usually begin abroad. Eventually, finding their way onto the shores of the united states. I wonder if this type of crisis would be different in the USA?

I expect the worst to happen since there are laws that allow the possession and use of weapons. The cases that took place in Lebanon were the attackers on the banks using fake weapons or simple tools. Personally, I rule out that the United States will reach a similar situation, at least now.
In any case, the governments of any country will not allow the collapse of the banking system in this way.

[dothebeats]

This is what happens when you strip the citizens off their rights and their money. They don't really want to go the extremes, but the situation forced them to, and they don't really have a choice anyway. I'd like to think that the banks at least tried to give the depositors their money, but I'm pretty sure that that money is already taken somewhere else before the crash happens, and that they are keeping those money somewhere for themselves. That should be a criminal offense, but if these banks are with the government, then might as well consider your money gone for good and save yourself the stress and possible jail time for participating in these riots.

[PX-Z]

I feel like attacking and destroying such establishment will do harm than good. But yeah, you can feel the rage of these people when realising that you can't get what you save for several years. Which crypto has the advantage for but only when you do all security measures to secured your funds as you be your own bank.

[Hispo]

I just checked the value of their currency and it is ridiculous their banks are so corrupt.
Do they really expect people to just wait until their money becomes even more worthless? It is complete recklessness... And then people who do not know what even Bitcoin is about wonder why we like non-custodial wallets.

Also, Is it me or Lebanon has been going downhill these last years?
I recall there was an economical crisis even before the explosion in Beirut, then came the explosion and now they cant even withdraw their own money, that people do not get a break from bad politicians, it seems...

[Silberman]

This is what happens when you strip the citizens off their rights and their money. They don't really want to go the extremes, but the situation forced them to, and they don't really have a choice anyway. I'd like to think that the banks at least tried to give the depositors their money, but I'm pretty sure that that money is already taken somewhere else before the crash happens, and that they are keeping those money somewhere for themselves. That should be a criminal offense, but if these banks are with the government, then might as well consider your money gone for good and save yourself the stress and possible jail time for participating in these riots.

And this shows once again, as if we needed more examples, that leaving your money at a centralized institution in which they are the ones in complete control is a bad idea, now holding cash has its own problems, as if you have a lot of it then storing it in your house makes you a target if anyone else finds out about what you are doing, but at least you will have your money and you can decide what to do with it, while those that left their money at those banks not only they cannot recover it, but even if they did it they cannot buy anything with it.

[LogitechMouse]

Sri Lanka had an economic collapse due to corruption.
Nigeria also is facing cash shortage.
Now Lebanon is facing the same as Sri Lanka. Corruption at it's highest.

I just made a quick search on how much a dollar is on Lebanon, and it's a whopping 14925.37 Lebanese Pound. What's next for them? Government will do the same as what Sri Lankan leaders did where they just go out of country? Too unfortunate and with what's happening worldwide, expect more countries might experience the same. I can't remember the whole context of what I watched years ago, but it says there that the government has been a corrupt government already for a long time.

Just hoping for the best for them. Riots everywhere, rallies everywhere that results to some people losing their lives.

[Gyfts]

As what happens with a lot of financial institutions when destabilizing events happen. The value of their assets crash and they can't sustain the balance of their depositors. Of course Lebanese corruption stemmed all of this and crashed the Lebanese currency. Courts ruled that overseas depositors were entitled to their funds, and that left people who were late to withdraw out of their cash.

If every depositor were to go to the banks and withdraw their balances, the bank will collapse. This applies to banks that aren't riddled with corruption too. The moment funds leave your hands and consumed into the banking system, your trust network extends far beyond that individual bank. Whatever dealings the institution has, you're forced to trust them because that's who has your funds.

[adaseb]

Yes these countries are very corrupt. I don’t know if it was Sri Lanka but there was some conference about food protests and the government drove in with their Land Rovers and they ended up getting attacked. And goes to show you how corrupt the government is.

People are starving while others are driving around in $100K vehicles. And usually what happens in these countries is hyperinflation pretty much. Hence you are better off using a different form of currency, gold or Bitcoin. That way you are at least protected from losing 100% of your fiat value.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

These things make me think that as bad as we are in other countries, it is nowhere near what we see here. Inflations of 5-10% per year as we have seen in the last year are nothing compared to this. However, these examples show us the way we can end up with suicidal currency issuing policies. In the end we will have to be grateful for the tightening of central banks despite the negative effects it has because going in the other direction leads to what is happening in Lebanon and other countries.

The other lesson is that with bitcoin we can protect ourselves from this, although much of the general population does not realise it, but because of events it will be more likely to be recognised by the population of Lebanon and other countries with such serious problems with their currencies.

[Fortify]

Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighborhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said.

A bank in the Badaro neighborhood smouldered as firefighters sprayed water, while riot police stood nearby with shields.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/lebanese-depositors-smash-up-burn-beirut-banks/101987326

What is happening in Lebanon is strange, as depositors cannot access their money, and with the increasing loss of the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 98% of its value since the collapse of the financial sector in the country in 2019, depositors will be forced to withdraw their money and transfer it before its value turns to zero, as The amount of one million pounds may have represented a value 4 years ago, but it is not worth anything at the present time.

Not far from the Lebanese pound compared to stablecoins, deposits on centralized exchanges and other central sectors of the cryptocurrency.

I can understand that it must be devastating for people in the country to see that any work they are doing is paid in an almost worthless currency, however they should direct their aggression at the incompetent politicians running the show, rather than the banking system. Burning banks and other infrastructure just seems like a crazily stupid idea because it is just wasting even more limited resources in an already poor country. On a wider scale it also discourages future investment by foreign companies.

[Wakate]

Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighborhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said.

A bank in the Badaro neighborhood smouldered as firefighters sprayed water, while riot police stood nearby with shields.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-17/lebanese-depositors-smash-up-burn-beirut-banks/101987326

What is happening in Lebanon is strange, as depositors cannot access their money, and with the increasing loss of the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 98% of its value since the collapse of the financial sector in the country in 2019, depositors will be forced to withdraw their money and transfer it before its value turns to zero, as The amount of one million pounds may have represented a value 4 years ago, but it is not worth anything at the present time.

Not far from the Lebanese pound compared to stablecoins, deposits on centralized exchanges and other central sectors of the cryptocurrency.

So many things are happening in different regions and we need to be very careful because recession and turbulence is happening consistently with people complaining about how to survive. The world is facing recession recently and the best way we need to handle this condition is to ensure that we save our money in crypto so the value of our money will not vanish immediately.
If people can start saving there money in cryptocurrency at least it will help people to have a better investment. The best way to solve this problem is not by burning banks rather to conduct a fair protest.

[Die_empty]

What is happening in Lebanon is strange, as depositors cannot access their money, and with the increasing loss of the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 98% of its value since the collapse of the financial sector in the country in 2019, depositors will be forced to withdraw their money and transfer it before its value turns to zero, as The amount of one million pounds may have represented a value 4 years ago, but it is not worth anything at the present time.

Not far from the Lebanese pound compared to stablecoins, deposits on centralized exchanges and other central sectors of the cryptocurrency.

For now, the best money to own is bitcoin. Critics might point at the volatility of the currency as it's the greatest challenge but many currencies are becoming worthless. In my country, you don't even have access to your money because almost all the banks are closed. There have been protests over these restrictions but there is nothing anybody can do. But I have access to my wallet and I can do as I wish with my funds. Stablecoin is still a centralized currency just like fiat and cannot also be trusted. The government should be humble enough to accept that they have lost control of the economy and allow people to determine their economic destiny.

[Husires]

Almost the same problem is repeated in all countries, but what is happening in Lebanon is a major crisis, and it is represented by both the failure of the state and an economic crisis more than a passing economic crisis.
I wonder how the solution will be? I read a documentary a while ago about how Germany solved hyperinflation at the beginning of the last century and how one trillion coins were printed without solving the problem.

In the current situation, unless the political crisis is resolved, I do not expect anything new regarding Lebanon.

[sunsilk]

IIRC, there were incidents last year when people were forced to robbed the banks just to take their own funds.

People in Lebanon are robbing banks and staging sit-ins to access their own savings

It's sad that its own people can't access their own deposited money and not just on that country but even in China, I've seen the same news.

[DrBeer]

Total corruption, arbitrariness of the authorities on the one hand, and the anger of the population on the other hand - always leads to a social explosion. At the same time, this can be in completely different manifestations - someone smashes banks, someone goes to rallies, and someone simply overthrows the anti-people government. This is a normal human reaction. Unfortunately, in some countries the authorities consider themselves "gods on earth", "inviolable" and people for thoughtless slaves. But fortunately, people are not everywhere sheep without honor and conscience. Some regimes are still holding back terror and violence from uprisings, but this is a matter of time .... Although, on the other hand, the destruction of banks, the destruction of assets is not the most reasonable way to restore justice ..

[hyudien]

Cases like this have happened frequently in Lebanon, and they can never be resolved easily. Government conditions that are no longer under control, the loss of power has long resulted in Lebanon becoming a country that has the potential to experience economic collapse. What's more, the protesters only demanded that their accounts be opened and they could access the money. Without granted access and the corrupt bank there I don't know if they really don't have any more money in the safe this would still be bad. Such as the theft is increasing and the worst is chaos everywhere just to get food. Supermarkets are the most ideal places to hunt.

[rat03gopoh]

It's a difficult challenge for the Lebanese, considering the political situation and leadership that is crumbling while the banks can only waiting for the settlement policy. It is time to make a simultaneous transition to an anti-policy currency, at least stop compromising people's rights until the situation returns to normal. However, this has the potential to cause a new, bigger disaster besides the people's financial problems, because of their crisis, I think it will be difficult to reach an endpoint.