According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon remained almost flat at $4.01 billion as at end of February 2022. In details, cash and deposits with Central Banks rose by 4.60% YTD February 2022 to $1.39 billion, coupled with a 0.68% increase in the value of fixed assets to $352 million and a 2.67% appreciation in the value of other assets to $79 million, altogether offsetting the 3.33% contraction in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to $1.56 billion, the 9.11% drop in claims on the non-resident financial sector to $53 million and the 0.85% decrease in the value of securities portfolio to $577 million, only to name a few. On the liabilities side, in investment banks’ capital accounts increased by 2.65% YTD February to $1.62 billion, and liabilities to the non-resident financial sector rose by 1.44% to $151 million, outweighing the 0.47% drop in private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) to around $1.11 billion and the 2.73% contraction in other liabilities to $1.12 billion.

Abiding by legislative decree number 50 and subsequent BDL circulars, investment banks operating in Lebanon have managed over the last couple of years to increase their lending activity to the private sector while reducing their exposure to the public sector. As a result, the surplus representing the difference between loans to the private sector and claims on the public sector reached $1.55 billion by end of February 2022.