According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon widened by 4.82% during the first month of 2025 to LBP 85,293 billion, up from LBP 81,368 billion at end of 2024. In details, cash & deposits with Central Banks rose by 12.97% to LBP 35,538 billion, coupled with an 11.93% increase in claims on the non-resident financial sector to LBP 7,448 billion and a 1.41% rise in the value of other assets to LBP 7,074 billion, which altogether outweighed the 5.40% drop in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to LBP 15,305 billion and the 1.60% contraction in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 12,709 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) rose by 3.21% in January 2025 to around LBP 47,786 billion, accompanied by a 6.71% increase in investment banks’ capital accounts to LBP 15,998 billion, and a 6.84% rise in the value of other liabilities to LBP 11,910 billion, among others.

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 15,303 billion in January 2025 compared to LBP 16,177 billion in December 2024.