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 eighth month of 2024 when converted to LBP as a result of the change in the official exchange rate to LBP 89,500 per USD starting January 2024. In figures, total assets of investment banks read LBP 77,413 billion at end of August 2024, compared to LBP 21,355 billion at end of 2023 at a time when the official exchange rate was LBP 15,000 per USD. In details, cash & deposits with Central Banks reached LBP 29,976 billion, with claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) attaining LBP 17,065 billion, the securities portfolio leveling at LBP 10,009 billion and claims on the non-resident financial sector reaching LBP 5,193 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) stood at LBP 46,333 billion at end of August of the current year, with investment banks’ other liabilities attaining LBP 13,184 billion and capital accounts reaching LBP 10,811 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 17,064 billion in August 2024 compared to LBP 4,512 billion in December 2023.