Lebanon will officially ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for technical help to restructure its public debt and solve its financial and economic crisis, a government source told Reuters on Feb. 12.

The new Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab won a confidence vote in parliament 63-20 on Feb. 11, but the financial and monetary crisis plaguing Lebanon, the third-highest indebted emerging country in the world, seems to be getting worse by the day. 

Despite reassurances from Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh that depositors’ money would not be affected and that the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound would not exceed about 1,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, Lebanese citizens are worried about their bank deposits amid tightened banking withdrawal restrictions.

Banks in Lebanon are only allowing clients to withdraw $200 to $300 per week from their personal accounts, and they have imposed restrictions on international transfers, which affected among others Lebanese students completing their studies abroad. The students need money from their parents in Lebanon to pay tuition fees and other costs.