According to ABL statistics, the value of cleared checks fell by 31.53% on an annual basis to reach LBP 50,663 billion (distributed over 2,948,730 checks) in the first eleven months of 2021, in comparison with LBP 73,993 billion (allocated over 5,382,841 checks) during that same period of 2020. Of the total value of cleared checks, 49.71% was denominated in foreign currency, versus 63.34% a year before. Concurrently, the value of returned checks fell by LBP 558 billion (41.18%) y-o-y to LBP 797 billion YTD November 2021, with the number of returned checks plunging by 77.19% to 23,972. Said anemic check clearing figures come in the light of the crippled economic activity and market’s preference for cash transactions amid the strict restrictions imposed by banks on cash withdrawals.

As a result, the number of returned checks expressed as a percentage of the total number of cleared checks dropped to 0.81% in the first eleven months of 2021, down from 1.95% a year earlier. Concurrently, the value of returned checks calculated, as a percentage of the total cleared checks value fell to 1.57% by November 2021, down from 1.83% during the first eleven months of 2020.