Why It Matters
Societe Generale de Banque au Liban SAL (SGBL) filed a 2026 third-quarter lobbying report disclosing work on International Monetary Fund (IMF) and banking policy issues. The engagement cost $130,000 in the third quarter of 2026, matching the second quarter of 2026, while the IMF said, as of Oct. 1, 2026, that Lebanon had still not completed key reforms it requires, including the bank-resolution law entering into force and the passage of an appropriate financial-gap law. For anyone tracking Lebanon's IMF program or U.S.-based foreign banking advocacy, SGBL is now formally on the record in Washington as those reform deadlines remain open.
By the Numbers
Societe Generale de Banque au Liban SAL's third-quarter 2026 report, signed Oct. 16, lists a $130,000 filing amount, with GRV Strategies LLC as registrant. That matches the $130,000 reported in the second quarter of 2026, a change of $0 quarter over quarter.
The sole lobbyist is Garrett Ventry Jr., founder of GRV Strategies LLC. His disclosed congressional experience includes a communications specialist role on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a six-day stint as Chief of Staff in Rep. Ken Buck's (R-CO-4) office in December 2021. SGBL is the only one of GRV Strategies LLC's five listed clients with a banking issue code.
Broader Context
The filing names no bill, but the IMF debate it touches on centers on Lebanon's multi-year effort to satisfy IMF conditions for a financial rescue, with the core question being how losses from Lebanon's banking collapse will be allocated among shareholders, creditors, depositors, and the state.
Lebanon's Parliament passed amendments to the bank-resolution law in August 2026, which the IMF welcomed as a "major step." The IMF's Oct. 1 statement listed the bank-resolution law's entry into force and passage of an appropriate financial-gap law among the reforms still outstanding. Lebanon's finance minister said in late September 2026 that a staff-level agreement could be reached, but that a full agreement would wait for the financial-gap law.
The IMF said in February 2026 that the cabinet-approved draft Financial Stabilization and Depositor Recovery law was a "first step" toward rehabilitating banks, but called for changes to respect the claims hierarchy, allocating losses to shareholders and junior creditors before depositors. In December 2025, before the cabinet-approved draft, the Association of Banks in Lebanon opposed an earlier draft of the financial-gap law, arguing it risks depositors' rights and departs from international standards. Financial economist Nader Haddad concluded that Lebanon's reform framework risks formalizing depositor losses rather than resolving the crisis, and said the draft recovery law would convert balances above $100,000 into long-term bonds.
The Bottom Line
SGBL's spending has held flat across its two quarters of disclosed activity, with no change in firm or lobbyist. The financial-gap law remains the outstanding condition for a full IMF agreement. The IMF said on October 1 that an appropriate financial-gap law was still outstanding, and Lebanon's finance minister has said a full IMF agreement would wait for its passage.
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