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Moody's Sees Lebanon 'Debt Restructuring' if No Help from IMF, World Bank

Moody's Investors Service said Monday that without technical support from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and international donors, it is increasingly likely that Lebanon could see "a scenario of extreme macroeconomic instability in which a debt restructuring occurs with an abrupt destabilization of the currency peg resulting in very large losses for private investors."

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has recently asked the IMF and the World Bank for help developing a reform plan to address the economic crisis.

Lebanon’s currency has been pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar since 1997, but in recent weeks it has reached more than 2,000 in the black market.

Lebanon's debt stands at $87 billion or 150 percent of GDP.

Source: Associated Press


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