The former headquarters of the Association of Banks of Lebanon in Beirut. (Credit: Magaly Abboud/OLJ/File)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's commercial banks do not have enough liquidity to pay back depositors, the head of the country's banking association said on Tuesday in a letter that laid out the banks' positions.
"These numbers show without a doubt that the banks have no liquidity," wrote Fadi Khalaf, the secretary general of the Association of the Banks of Lebanon (ABL).
The letter said commercial banks had approximately $86.6 billion deposited at Lebanon's central bank as of mid-February, and a net negative position with correspondent banks of $204 million as of Jan. 31, 2023.
"These numbers show without a doubt that the banks have no liquidity," Khalaf wrote.