According to BDL statistics, the combined balance sheet of commercial banks operating in Lebanon shows a staggering increase in figures since January 2024 when reported in LBP equivalent as a result of the change in the official exchange rate to LBP 89,500 per USD starting beginning of the year. In figures, the consolidated assets of banks reached LBP 9,253.95 trillion by end of October 2024 compared to LBP 1,728.74 trillion in December 2023 and LBP 1,683.73 trillion in October 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 8,043.72 trillion in October 2024, with those of the resident private sector reaching LBP 6,106.81 trillion, non-resident private sector deposits nearing LBP 1,877.58 trillion, and public sector deposits standing at LBP 59.33 trillion. From a currency denomination standpoint, deposits in Lebanese Pounds increased by 71.95% (LBP 50.60 trillion) in the first ten months of the year to LBP 120.92 trillion, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 3.02% ($2.76 billion) to $88.52 billion. In this context, the deposit dollarization rate reached 99.64% at end of October 2024 in comparison with 96.62% in December 2023 and 96.75% in October 2023. It is worth noting that foreign currency deposits in the private sector contracted by $344.54 million during the month of October 2024 with LBP-denominated deposits dropping by LBP 1.68 trillion.

On the lending front, loans to the private sector (residents and non-residents) reached LBP 543.55 trillion in October 2024 compared to December 2023’s reading of LBP 124.82 trillion. More specifically, LBP denominated loans increased by 5.50% (LBP 0.63 trillion) in the first ten months of 2024 to LBP 12.01 trillion while foreign currency loans receded by 21.46% ($1.62 billion) to $5.94 billion. It is worth noting that foreign currency loans increased by $27.29 million during the month of October 2024 while LBP-denominated loans added LBP 751 billion. The ratio of loans to deposits attained 6.76% at end of October 2024 compared to 8.67% at end of 2023 and 8.95% at end of October 2023. The increase in FC loans is mainly attributed to some $52 million rise in loans to the local financial sector which outweighed the $23 million drop in FC claims on customers. More specifically, the ratio of LBP-denominated private sector loans to LBP deposits stood at 9.94% in October, in comparison with 16.19% at year-end 2023 and 17.94% in October 2023 while the ratio of foreign currency-denominated private sector loans to foreign currency deposits reached 6.68% at end of October 2024 in comparison with 8.26% at end of December 2023 and 8.47% at end of October 2023.

The consolidated capital accounts of commercial banks operating in Lebanon rose markedly to attain LBP 412.83 trillion ($4.61 billion) in October 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 for the sixth month in a row, inching up by LBP 3.42 trillion in October ($38.16 million) after racking up LBP 74.51 trillion ($832.49 million) in September and adding LBP 26.30 trillion ($293.89 million) in August, LBP 40.42 trillion ($451.66 million) in July, following increases of LBP 9.89 trillion ($110.51 million) in June and LBP 7.45 trillion ($83.21 million) in May.