According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon fell by 0.47% during the first eight months of 2022 to $3.99 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 7.62% YTD August 2022 to $1.49 billion and claims on the non-resident financial sector dropped by 19.23% to $47 million, altogether outweighing the 5.65% rise in cash and deposits with Central Banks to $1.41 billion and the 6.55% increase in the value of securities portfolio to $620 million, only to name a few. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) dropped by 6.12% in the first eight months of 2022 to $1.05 billion, with other liabilities contracting by 2.14% to $1.13 billion and previously issued debt securities being fully reimbursed, outweighing the 5.11% increase in investment banks’ capital accounts to $1.66 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 $1.48 billion by end of August 2022.