Lebanon: Money transfers close as currency goes into freefall

Lebanon: Money transfers close as currency goes into freefall

Rate monitoring site lebaneselira.org noted that there was "no clear Lebanese Lira exchange rate due to extreme market volatility resulting from [Central Bank] recent circulars that significantly reduced US dollars in circulation in Lebanon.". From today, all transfers must be withdrawn in the local currency at the "market rate" according to the circular.. The "market rate" will be determined by banks themselves, with depositors with dollar accounts in Lebanese banks receiving local currency, within the organisation's withdrawal limits, at this rate.. The decision not to allow money transfers to be withdrawn in dollars sparked a rush on some money transfer offices yesterday..