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 third 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 72,749 billion at end of March 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 26,160 billion, with claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) attaining LBP 15,534 billion, the securities portfolio leveling at LBP 8,191 billion and claims on the non-resident financial sector reaching LBP 5,137 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) stood at LBP 40,324 billion at end of March of the current year, with investment banks’ other liabilities attaining LBP 15,639 billion and capital accounts reaching LBP 10,932 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 15,534 billion in March 2024 compared to LBP 4,512 billion in December 2023.