According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon narrowed by 0.39% during the first quarter of 2022 to $4.00 billion, down from $4.01 billion at end of 2021. In details, claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) fell by 4.64% YTD March 2022 to $1.53 billion, coupled with some 18.13% drop in claims on the non-resident financial sector to $48 million and a 4.32% decrease in the value of securities portfolio to $557 million, altogether outweighing the 7.05% rise in cash and deposits with Central Banks to $1.42 billion and the 4.25% appreciation in the value of other assets to $80 million. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) dropped by 6.75% YTD March 2022 to around $1.04 billion and other liabilities contracted by 3.43% to $1.11 billion, outweighing the 6.16% increase in investment banks’ capital accounts to $1.68 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 $1.53 billion by end of March 2022.