According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon narrowed by 1.07% (LBP 982.02 billion) during the first quarter of 2026 to LBP 91,173 billion, down from LBP 92,155 billion at end of 2025. In details, claims on the non-resident financial sector dropped by 24.72% (LBP 2,038.49 billion) to LBP 6,207 billion and was accompanied by the 4.53% (LBP 476.46 billion) decrease in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 10,039 billion, and the 1.26% (LBP 453.48 billion) drop in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 35,584 billion, which altogether outweighed the 11.58% (1,793.62 billon) rise in claims on the private sector to LBP 17,278 billion, the 1.84% (LBP 144.37 billion) increase in the value of other assets to LBP 7,991 billion, and the 0.35% (LBP 48.49 billion) rise in the value of fixed assets to LBP 14,070 billion among others. On the liabilities side, investment banks’ liabilities to the non-resident financial sector decreased by 10.34% (LBP 1,060.38 billion) up until March 2026 to LBP 9,197 billion, coupled with the 2.00% (503.31 billion) drop in capital accounts to LBP 24,640 billion, and the 56.15% (LBP 250.65 billion) decrease in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 196 billion have totally eroded the 7.17% (LBP 951.37 billion) rise in other liabilities to LBP 14,221 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 17,275 billion in March 2026 compared to LBP 15,481 billion in December 2025 and LBP 15,701 billion in March 2025.