According to Banque Du Liban (BDL) statistics, the combined balance sheet of investment banks operating in Lebanon widened by 6.52% (LBP 6,004.11 billion) during the first eight months of 2026 to LBP 98,159 billion, up from LBP 92,155 billion at end of 2025. In details, claims on the private sector (comprising resident and non-resident customers) rose by 70.94% (LBP 10,985.18 billion) to LBP 26,470 billion, coupled with some 10.47% (LBP 1,467.84 billion) increase in the value of fixed assets to LBP 15,490 billion, and a 1.66% (LBP 598.70 billion) rise in cash and deposits with Central Banks to LBP 36,636 billion, which altogether outweighed the 75.44% (LBP 5,919.35 billion) drop in the value of other assets to LBP 1,927 billion, the 9.03% (LBP 949.90 billion) decrease in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 9,565 billion, and the 2.17% (LBP 178.87 billion) drop in claims on the non-resident financial sector to LBP 8,067 billion. On the liabilities side, liabilities to the non-resident financial sector rose by 44.18% (LBP 4,531.68 billion) YTD August 2026 to LBP 14,789 billion, coupled with the 6.22% (LBP 2,678.61 billion) increase in private sector deposits (resident and non-resident customers, in addition to the resident financial sector) to LBP 45,717 billion, and the 3.49% (LBP 877.32 billion) rise in investment banks’ capital accounts to LBP 26,020 billion, have totally eroded the 14.31% (LBP 1,898.73 billion) drop in the value of other liabilities to LBP 11,371 billion and the 41.40% (LBP 184.77 billion) decrease in liabilities to the public sector to LBP 262 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 26,466 billion in August 2026 compared to LBP 15,481 billion in December 2025 and LBP 13,505 billion in August 2025.