According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon narrowed by 2.79% (LBP 2,270.65 billion) during the first seven months of 2025 to LBP 79,097 billion, down from LBP 81,368 billion at end of 2024. In details, claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) dropped by 12.48% (LBP 2,018.30 billion) to LBP 14,160 billion and were accompanied by some 6.26% (LBP 1,969.27 billion) decrease in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 29,489 billion and some 7.60% (LBP 981.67 billion) drop in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 11,935 billion, which together outweighed the 30.59% (LBP 2,197.60 billion) rise in the value of fixed assets to LBP 9,381 billion, the 8.30% (LBP 551.94 billion) increase in claims on the non-resident financial sector to LBP 7,206 billion and the 2556.85% (LBP 37.46 billion) hike in claims on the public sector to LBP 38.93 billion. On the liabilities side, private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) fell by 16.04% (LBP 7,425.87 billion) in the first seven months of 2025 to LBP 38,873 billion, and were accompanied by some 3.73% (LBP 415.94 billion) decrease in other liabilities to LBP 10,732 billion and some 30.75% (234.47 billion) drop in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 528 billion, which offset the 35.17% (LBP 5,273.20 billion) increase in investment banks’ capital accounts to LBP 20,265 billion and the 6.52% (LBP 532.43 billion) increase in liabilities to the non-resident financial sector to LBP 8,699 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 14,121 billion in July 2025 compared to LBP 16,177 billion in December 2024.