Two banks in Lebanon that have been put on hold due to customers trying to withdraw their own funds have been frozen as the country suffers an economic downturn.
Most have had their foreign currency assets locked in the past two years, with banks allowing only small withdrawals that often don’t include essentials.
In two separate incidents on Wednesday, banks were thwarted by customers trying to access their savings.
During one check, a woman and several associates took what she said was a toy gun into a branch of BLOM bank in Beirut and left over $13,000 (£11,260) in cash from your account.
The woman, Sali Hafiz, said she went to the bank to get money for her sister’s cancer treatment.
BLOM Bank said customers were threatened during the raid, with the branch manager and cashier forced to bring money from the safe.
An armed man then went into a Bankmed branch in the mountain city of Aley to retrieve some of his stranded savings.
He turned himself in shortly after.
It comes a month after a man establish a bank in Beirut to withdraw money for his father’s medical treatment.
He was arrested but later released after the bank dropped the charges.
‘I have nothing left to lose’
Before going into hiding, Ms. Hafiz told local media that she had no choice but to hold the bank BLOM.
She said: “I have nothing left to lose, I have reached the end of the road.
“I got to the point where I had to sell my kidney so my sister could get treatment.”
Ms Hafiz said she tried to withdraw the money two days earlier but was unable to do so.
Her mother told local television: “All we have is this money in the bank. My daughter is forced to take this money – it’s her right, it’s in her account. – to cure my sister’s illness”.
Banks are said to make exceptions for customers trying to pay for things like hospital care, but many say this is not happening.
Senior bankers have warned that holdings could grow.
One person told Reuters: “I think this is an invitation for others to do the same. As long as people get out of it, they’ll move on. What a failed state.”
