According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon widened by 2.08% (LBP 1,688.96 billion) during the first quarter of 2025 to LBP 83,057 billion, up from LBP 81,368 billion at end of 2024. In details, claims on the non-resident financial sector rose by 23.35% (LBP 1,553.85 billion) to LBP 8,208 billion and were accompanied by a 9.14% (LBP 637.61 billion) increase in the value of other assets to LBP 7,613 billion and an 8.29% (LBP 595.34 billion) rise in the value of fixed assets to LBP 7,779 billion, which altogether outweighed the 4.47% (LBP 577.21 billion) drop in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 12,339 billion, the 2.94% (LBP 475.06 billion) decrease in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to LBP 15,703 billion and the 0.15% (LBP 46.01 billion) contraction in cash & deposits with Central Banks to LBP 31,413 billion. On the liabilities side, investment banks’ capital accounts soared by 28.03% (LBP 4,202.47 billion) up until March 2025 to LBP 19,194 billion, coupled with a 47.58% (LBP 362.83 billion) increase in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 1,125 billion, and a 3.66% (LBP 299.07 billion) rise in liabilities to the non-resident financial sector to LBP 8,466 billion, which offset the 7.27% (LBP 3,365.44 billion) drop in private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) to LBP 42,934 billion.

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 15,701 billion in March 2025 compared to LBP 16,177 billion in December 2024.