Almost six years after the crisis, Lebanon finally decides to issue new banknotes

It took nearly two years for the MPs to approve the issuance of new Lebanese pound notes by the Central Bank (BDL). Gathered on Thursday at the Parliament, they approved a bill presented by MP Ziad Hawat (Lebanese Forces) amending the Monetary and Credit Code and validated in May 2023.Its adoption paves the way for printing 500,000, and one, two, and five million Lebanese Lira notes, while the national currency has lost 98 percent of its value since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2019, without any new notes being issued. In parallel, this text also allows the issuance of coins of 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 pounds, which will be added to the 250 and 500 pound coins already in circulation, but which are now seldom used due to their negligible value. Read more Bank secrecy: Lebanon finally adopts comprehensive...