According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon narrowed by 1.10% (LBP 1,010.55 billion) during the first half of 2026 to LBP 91,144 billion, down from LBP 92,155 billion at end of 2025. In details, claims on the non-resident financial sector dropped by 25.63% (LBP 2,113.07 billion) to LBP 6,133 billion and was accompanied by the 7.09% (LBP 994.70 billion) decrease in the value of fixed assets to LBP 13,027 billion, and the 2.00% (LBP 719.74 billion) drop in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 35,318 billion, which altogether outweighed the 16.43% (2,543.39 billon) rise in claims on the private sector to LBP 18,028 billion, and the 5.79% (LBP 454.64 billion) increase in the value of other assets to LBP 8,301 billion. On the liabilities side, investment banks’ private sector deposits decreased by 4.62% (LBP 1,986.45 billion) up until June 2026 to LBP 41,052 billion, coupled with the 2.18% (548.84 billion) drop in investment banks’ capital accounts to LBP 24,594 billion, and the 50.67% (LBP 226.17 billion) decrease in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 220 billion, have totally eroded the 18.28% (LBP 1,875.08 billion) rise in liabilities to the non-resident financial sector to LBP 12,132 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 18,024 billion in June 2026 compared to LBP 15,481 billion in December 2025 and LBP 15,201 billion in June 2025.