IMF mission in Lebanon discussed improving draft funding shortfall law

BEIRUT, Feb 13 (Reuters) - An International Monetary Fund mission to Lebanon this week discussed improvements needed to a draft law aimed at addressing huge losses in the country's financial system to align it with international principles, the IMF said.

The law aims to address a vast funding shortfall resulting from the collapse of the financial system in 2019 - estimated at $70 billion in 2022 but now believed to be higher. The collapse froze depositors out of their bank accounts, sank the Lebanese currency, and led the state to default on sovereign debt.

In a statement, the head of the IMF mission Ernesto Ramirez Rigo said the law recently approved by cabinet was "a first step toward rehabilitating the banking sector and giving depositors gradual access to their deposits".