The Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) is studying a new initiative that aims at returning depositors their money within the laws and principles of BDL. This initiative comes despite the political and economic crisis, which is evolving due to the absence of an effective government that would undertake the required reforms and restore Lebanon’s Arab and international relations.

This initiative involves:

First: BDL is currently negotiating with Lebanese banks to adopt a mechanism, which would lead to paying depositors their money, that were deposited before October 17, 2019 in all currencies.

BDL have asked banks to provide it with the required data to take an action to pay up to $25,000 to the depositors or its equivalent in any other foreign currency. These sums will be paid in installments over a period to be determined by the Central Bank of Lebanon soon. Payments are expected to be given starting from June 30, 2021, if they obtained legal coverage.

Second: The BDL has launched the electronic SAYRAFA platform for exchange operations with the participation of banks and money dealers. The platform will provide transparency in prices for the subscribers. The BDL will issue circulars once the Minister of Finance responds to this proposal as stipulated by law.

BDL will intervene when necessary to control price fluctuations, given that the prices will be determined by supply and demand.

Third: Contrary to what has been rumored, the BDL is still securing the dollar to the banks at the official exchange rate (1,500 LBP) for the subsidized raw material. It is also committed to selling these dollars at the official price rate for all the goods approved by the government. The Central Bank carries out these operations daily and accordingly.

In order to preserve the continuity of the subsidies as required by the government for the sake of the Lebanese, and in compliance with the Monetary and Credit Law, the BDL has sent messages to relevant ministries in order to rationalize the support, and it is awaiting their answers that can be implemented legally.

The Central Bank has adopted, for a long time, proactive policies in order to secure the continuation of financing for the basic needs of the Lebanese. The central bank has anticipated the future and collected foreign reserves through financial engineering and operations, which showed it benefits in these tough days.

The statement added: “Lebanon would not have been able to finance its needs, especially for the most needy segments of society, and would not have been able to withstand for many months amid the governmental crisis. Our initiative today, comes in the context of securing some alternative and temporary solutions without cancelling our calls to accelerate the radical solutions required for reform and economic advancement, which would secure a comprehensive renaissance of the financial situation.