According to BDL statistics, the combined balance sheet of commercial banks operating in Lebanon widened by 5.09% (LBP 19,136 billion) during the first nine months of the current year to LBP 395,233 billion ($262.18 billion), up from LBP 376,097 billion ($249.48 billion) in December 2018. On an annual basis, the combined assets of the resident banking sector came in 8.73% higher than the LBP 363,483 billion ($241.12 billion) reading reported at end of September of last year.

On the funding side of the balance sheet, customer deposits fell by 1.98% (LBP 5,326 billion) YTD September 2019 to LBP 263,848 billion ($175.02 billion), down from LBP 269,173 billion ($178.56 billion) in December 2018. Said contraction came as a result of the 2.11% (LBP 4,341 billion) drop in the deposits of the resident private sector to LBP 201,518 billion ($133.68 billion), accompanied by a 2.92% (LBP 1,658 billion) decrease in the deposits of the non-resident private sector to LBP 55,212 billion ($36.62 billion), which were, however, met by a 10.46% (LBP 674 billion) hike in public sector deposits to LBP 7,119 billion ($4.72 billion). From a currency denomination standpoint, deposits in Lebanese Pounds receded by 8.29% (LBP 6,931 billion) during the first nine months of this year to LBP 76,711 billion ($50.89 billion), while foreign currency deposits rose by 0.87% (LBP 1,605 billion) to LBP 187,137 billion ($124.14 billion). In this context, the deposit dollarization rate increased to 72.89% by end of September, from 70.62% at end of 2018 and 69.14% in September of the previous year. On an annual basis, customer deposits narrowed by 1.78% from LBP 268,637 billion ($178.20 billion) in September 2018.

On the lending front, loans to the private sector (residents and non-residents) plunged by 8.23% (LBP 7,363 billion) during the first nine months of 2019 to LBP 82,161 billion ($54.50 billion), down from LBP 89,524 billion ($59.39 billion) in December 2018. The loans portfolio also sank by 8.28% on an annual basis, resulting in a ratio of net loans to customer deposits of 31.14%, compared to 33.26% at end of 2018 and 33.35% in September 2018. More specifically, the ratio of LBP-denominated private sector loans to LBP deposits stood at 31.85% by end of September 2019, in comparison with 32.95% at year-end 2018 and 33.17% in September of last year. Similarly, the ratio of foreign currency-denominated private sector loans to foreign currency deposits fell to 30.85%, from 33.40% in December 2018 and 33.43% at end of September 2018.

The consolidated capital accounts of commercial banks operating in Lebanon rose to just over LBP 31,099 billion ($20.63 billion) at end of September 2019, compared to LBP 30,382 billion ($20.15 billion) at end of 2018 and LBP 30,281 billion ($20.09 billion) at end of September 2018. This can be explained by banks’ continuous reinforcement of their capital base in order to meet BDL’s solvency requirement thresholds.