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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 18 June 2020:
Wahda bank reported that it held a meeting on 15 June of the Debt Departments and Credit Departments of its Benghazi branches with the aim of creating a specific database of non-performing debts. The bank said that this database will act as the basis for the demand for the repayment of these debts.
Other meetings involving branches in other cities will also take place.
What is noteworthy about this news is that there has been historically no tradition of Libyan banks seriously seeking to recover debts since most banks had been state-owned. During the Qaddafi era, it was unheard of for any bank to attempt to use legal action to recover its debts.
If Wahda bank does indeed go ahead with legal action to recover its old debts, it will be something new. The bank’s statement did not make clear if the bank will implement this policy immediately – during a time of security and political instability in Libya.
