According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon rose by 272.63% in 2023 to LBP 21,355 billion, up from LBP 5,731 billion at end of 2022. This large increase can be explained by the adoption of the new official exchange rate of LBP 15,000 per USD starting the month of February 2023. In details, fixed assets soared by 1,014.73% to LBP 5,686 billion, coupled with some 161.84% rise in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 5,105 billion, a 2,044.02% increase in other assets to LBP 2,990 billion, and a 102.06% rise in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to LBP 4,513 billion, altogether outweighing the 83.70% drop in claims on the public sector to LBP 1 billion. It is worth noting that the fixed assets of investment banks soared by 247.87% during the month of December 2023 alone owing to the revaluation of their real estate portfolios. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) rose by 454.41% in 2023 to LBP 8,006 billion, with investment banks’ other liabilities increasing by 485.43% to LBP 8,686 billion and capital accounts rising by 37.30% to LBP 3,426 billion, only to name a few.

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 LBP 4,512 billion in 2023 compared to LBP 2,228 billion in 2022.