One of the secondary entrances of the Banque du Liban, located in the Hamra district of Beirut. (Credit: Photo P.H.B./L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — On Aug. 14, Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) extended the deadline for banks to meet its foreign currency liquidity requirements, issuing Intermediate Circular No. 739 to amend Circular No. 154 of 2020. The original circular had introduced exceptional measures aimed at reviving Lebanese banks’ operations.Under the new rules, banks must maintain at all times a free account in foreign currencies with correspondent banks abroad equivalent to at least 3 percent of their total foreign currency deposits, calculated as of June 30, 2025. The initial deadlines — July 31, 2020, for the reference balance and Feb. 28, 2021, for full compliance — have been pushed back as part of the new amendment. Banks now have until June 30, 2026, to meet the requirements.Circular No. 154, issued in August 2020 by former BDL Governor Riad Salameh,...
BEIRUT — On Aug. 14, Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) extended the deadline for banks to meet its foreign currency liquidity requirements, issuing Intermediate Circular No. 739 to amend Circular No. 154 of 2020. The original circular had introduced exceptional measures aimed at reviving Lebanese banks’ operations.Under the new rules, banks must maintain at all times a free account in foreign currencies with correspondent banks abroad equivalent to at least 3 percent of their total foreign currency deposits, calculated as of June 30, 2025. The initial deadlines — July 31, 2020, for the reference balance and Feb. 28, 2021, for full compliance — have been pushed back as part of the new amendment. Banks now have until June 30, 2026, to meet the requirements.Circular No. 154, issued in August 2020 by former BDL Governor Riad...
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
