BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday passed long-awaited amendments to the banking secrecy law to unlock a potential 3-billion-U.S. dollars financial assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Al-Jadeed local TV channel reported.
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said during the parliament session that the measure was needed to implement the banking restructuring resolution.
Member of parliament Ibrahim Kanaan said he expected the step to be "evaluated positively by the international community."
The Lebanese government in April reached a staff-level preliminary agreement with the IMF to finance the country with 3 billion U.S. dollars for a period of four years.
The funding deal, which is subject to approval by the IMF, requires the Lebanese government to implement a host of reforms, including passing a capital control law and a banking secrecy law, restructuring the banking sector, and unifying the exchange rates. ■
