According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon narrowed by 2.67% (LBP 2,170.53 billion) during the first half of 2025 to LBP 79,197 billion, down from LBP 81,368 billion at end of 2024. In details, the value of the securities portfolio dropped by 20.39% (LBP 2,633.46 billion) to LBP 10,283 billion and were accompanied by some 6.07% (LBP 1,909.24 billion) decrease in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 29,549 billion and some 5.82% (LBP 940.87 billion) drop in claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) to LBP 15,237 billion, which together outweighed the 30.33% (LBP 2,178.61 billion) rise in the value of fixed assets to LBP 9,362 billion, the 13.64% (LBP 907.93 billion) increase in claims on the non-resident financial sector to LBP 7,562 billion and the 2.75% (LBP 191.54 billion) hike in the value of other assets to LBP 7,167 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) fell by 13.82% (LBP 6,399.33 billion) in the first half of 2025 to LBP 39,900 billion, and were accompanied by some 15.84% (LBP 1,765.80 billion) decrease in other liabilities to LBP 9,382 billion, which offset the 33.01% (LBP 4,948.39 billion) increase in investment banks’ capital accounts to LBP 19,940 billion, the 72.35% (LBP 551.77 billion) rise in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 1,314 billion, and the 6.05% (LBP 494.44 billion) increase in liabilities to the non-resident financial sector to LBP 8,661 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 15,201 billion in June 2025 compared to LBP 16,177 billion in December 2024.