According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon fell by 2.57% during the first ten months of 2022 to $3.91 billion, down from $4.01 billion at end of 2021. In details, cash and deposits with Central Banks fell by 7.84% YTD October 2022 to $1.23 billion, and were accompanied by some 27.57% contraction in claims on the non-resident financial sector to $42 million and a 1.94% drop in the value of the securities portfolio to $571 million altogether outweighing the 1.53% rise in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to $1.63 billion and the 6.85% increase in the value of other assets to $82 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 10.39% in the first ten months of 2022 to just below $1.00 billion, with other liabilities contracting by 6.69% to $1.08, totally offsetting the 4.83% 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 $1.63 billion by end of October 2022.