According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon show a sizeable increase in figures in the second month of 2024 when converted to LBP as a result of the change in the official exchange rate to LBP 89,500 per USD. In figures, total assets of investment banks read LBP 74,331 billion at end of February 2024, compared to LBP 21,355 billion at end of year 2023 at a time when the exchange rate was LBP 15,000 per USD. In details, cash & deposits with Central Banks reached LBP 26,448 billion, with claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) attaining LBP 17,081 billion, the securities portfolio leveling at LBP 8,680 billion and claims on the non-resident financial sector reaching LBP 4,584 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) stood at LBP 41,991 billion at end of February of the current year, with investment banks’ other liabilities attaining LBP 14,959 billion and capital accounts reaching LBP 11,381 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 17,080 billion in February 2024 compared to LBP 4,512 billion in December 2023.