According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the consolidated balance sheet of financial institutions operating in Lebanon narrowed by 1.84% (LBP 806.94 billion) in the first quarter of 2025 to LBP 42,966.08 billion, down from LBP 43,773.02 billion at year-end 2024. This can be attributed to the 15.11% (LBP 1,730.16 billion) decrease in claims on the resident financial sector to LBP 9,719.77 billion, coupled with the 9.99% (LBP 244.66 billion) drop in cash & deposits with central banks to LBP 2,204.54 billion and the 11.08% (LBP 135.00 billion) decrease in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 1,083.22 billion, which altogether outweighed the 2.70% (LBP 701.99 billion) increase in claims on customers to LBP 26,689.25 billion, the 28.17% (LBP 517.84 billion) rise in claims on the non-resident financial sector to LBP 2,355.98 billion, and the 19.42% (LBP 42.45 billion) increase in the value of other assets to LBP 261.04 billion, among others. It is worth noting that claims on customers and claims on the resident financial sector are the two largest asset categories on financial institutions’ balance sheet, accounting for 62.12% and 22.62% of total assets on a respective basis. On the liabilities side, customer deposits dropped by 12.95% (LBP 1,723.13 billion) YTD March 2025 to LBP 11,577.96 billion and other liabilities decreased by 2.56% (LBP 215.29 billion) to LBP 8,210.85 billion, totally eroding the 58.44% (LBP 737.10 billion) increase in the value of issued debt securities to LBP 1,998.33 billion, the 2.39% rise (LBP 219.66 billion) in liabilities to the resident financial sector to LBP 9,415.41 billion, and the 1.27% increase (LBP 104.02 billion) in capital accounts to LBP 8,323.30 billion only to name a few.