The Lebanese Central Bank issued on February 2, 2024 intermediate decision 13611 under basic circular 166 directed to banks concerning the gradual payment of foreign currency deposits constituted after October 31, 2019. In details, the basic circular states that eligible depositors have the option of transferring up to $4,350 to a special charge-free & non-interest generating special sub-account, and accordingly can withdraw $150 (up to $1,800 annually) in fresh funds from said account annually. The same applies to joint-accounts where each account holder can benefit from a pro-rata share of the withdrawal amount, while eligible individual account holders who have both an individual account and a joint account can benefit on their individual account only, while their partner can utilize the joint-account. As for the eligibility criteria, the account holder must first be in compliance with basic circular no.154 related to the repatriation of part of the capital they transferred to outside Lebanon (in case the amount transferred is more than $0.5 million since July 1, 2017). The account holder must as well not have engaged in the practice of trading checks, converted more than $300,000 from LBP to USD (except for end of service indemnity amounts) after October 31, 2019, repaid USD-denominated loans in LBP for a consideration of $300K or more, and/or engaged in Sayrafa related operations amounting to or exceeding $75,000. Always on the same note, the eligible account holder must not have benefitted from or is currently benefitting from from the provisions of BDL circular 158 at any bank. The circular specifies the eligible balance based on the remaining deposit balance as of June 30, 2023. Eligible depositors must waive the bank secrecy on their Special Sub Accounts and sign a confirmation letter where they declare that they have not violated any of the aforementioned eligibility criteria. The circular remains effective until June 30, 2024 subject to modification or renewal.