According to BDL statistics, the combined balance sheet of commercial banks operating in Lebanon show a staggering increase in figures in May 2024 when reported in LBP equivalent as a result of the change in the official exchange rate to LBP 89,500 per USD starting January 2024. In figures, the consolidated assets of banks stood at LBP 9,334.37 trillion by end of May 2024 compared to LBP 1,728.74 trillion in December 2023 and LBP 1,728.22 trillion in May of the previous year at a time when the official exchange rate was LBP 15,000/USD.

On the funding side of the balance sheet, customer deposits attained LBP 8,215.46 trillion in May 2024, with those of the resident private sector reaching LBP 6,254.79 trillion, non-resident private sector deposits nearing LBP 1,883.71 trillion, and public sector deposits standing at LBP 76.96 trillion. From a currency denomination standpoint, deposits in Lebanese Pounds increased by 90.11% (LBP 63.37 trillion) YTD May to LBP 133.69 trillion, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 1.07% ($0.98 billion) in the first five months of the current year to $90.30 billion. In this context, the deposit dollarization rate reached 99.70% at end of May 2024 in comparison with 96.62% in December 2023 and 96.05% in May 2023. It is worth noting that foreign currency deposits in the private sector rose by $246.60 million during the month of May 2024 while LBP-denominated deposits rose by LBP 13.31 trillion.

On the lending front, loans to the private sector (residents and non-residents) reached LBP 617.35 trillion in May 2024 compared to December 2023’s reading of LBP 124.82 trillion. More specifically, LBP denominated loans fell by 10.04% (LBP 1.14 trillion) in the first five months of 2024 to LBP 10.24 trillion and foreign currency loans receded by 10.30% ($778.74 million) to $6.78 billion. It is worth noting that foreign currency loans dropped by $23.44 million during the month of May 2024 while LBP-denominated loans fell by LBP 111 billion. The ratio of loans to deposits attained 7.51% by May 2024 compared to 8.67% at end of 2023 and 9.67% a year earlier. More specifically, the ratio of LBP-denominated private sector loans to LBP deposits stood at 7.66% in May, in comparison with 16.19% at year-end 2023 and 18.06% a year earlier while the ratio of foreign currency-denominated private sector loans to foreign currency deposits reached 7.48% at end of May 2024 in comparison with 8.26% at end of December 2023 and 9.16% at end of May 2023.

The consolidated capital accounts of commercial banks operating in Lebanon stood at LBP 258.29 trillion in May 2024 in comparison with LBP 76.37 trillion at end of year 2023 as a result of the aforementioned change in the official exchange rate. On a monthly basis, however, the capital accounts of the resident banking sector increased by LBP 7.45 trillion in May following contractions of LBP 12.36 trillion in April, LBP 21.14 trillion in March and LBP 28.38 trillion in February. The core capital of resident banks increased by LBP 7.41 trillion in May 2024 alone, while supplementary capital increased by LBP 0.04 trillion. It is worth noting that the non-resident core capital rose by LBP 4.94 trillion in the month of May.