The Lebanese Central Bank recently issued intermediate circular no. 552 concerning the facilities provided by the Central Bank to banks and financial institutions which adds additional clauses to intermediate circular 547. The circular requires banks and financial institutions operating in Lebanon to extend on their own responsibility exceptional loans in local or foreign currency to existing clients who already benefit from different types of loans (including subsidized ones) and who are unable to honor their debt obligations for the months of March, April, May and June 2020 due to the current economic situation. The circular added that the exceptional loans can be used to repay loan installments for the aforementioned four months and/or to cover salaries & operating expenses at concerned companies. The circular requires banks and financial institutions to pay salaries in cash or through transfers to bank accounts, through a bank domiciliation, or through debit cards. Said loans are interest & commission free, and must be repaid in the same currency as the original loan over the course of 5 years, with an optional prepayment without any penalties. The circular further added that businesses that were not exempted from the lockdown (pharmacies, bakeries, etc.) will not benefit from these exceptional loans. Always in the same context, the circular pointed out that businesses that went bankrupt can only benefit from the provisions of the circular to pay employee salaries, loan installment and some operating expenses. The circular also stipulates that the aforementioned loans will not be subjected to the debt ceilings placed on clients. The source of funds for these loans will be lines of credit in US Dollar extended by the Central Bank to banks & financial institutions over a period of five years and at a zero interest rate for an amount corresponding to the loans provided by these banks to their clients in local and foreign currencies.