According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon fell by 2.35% during the first nine months of 2022 to $3.92 billion, down from $4.01 billion at end of 2021. In details, cash and deposits with Central Banks fell by 9.72% YTD September 2022 to $1.20 billion, and were accompanied by some 29.84% contraction in claims on the non-resident financial sector to $41 million and a 1.03% drop in the value of securities portfolio to $576 million altogether outweighing the 3.44% rise in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to $1.66 billion and the 0.66% increase in the value of fixed assets to $352 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 8.05% in the first nine months of 2022 to $1.03 billion, with other liabilities contracting by 6.50% to $1.08, totally offsetting the 4.84% 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 $1.66 billion by end of September 2022.