Lebanon to devalue the pound by 90%, central bank governor says – The National

Lebanon to devalue the pound by 90%, central bank governor says – The National

Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per US dollar on Wednesday, central bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90 per cent devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years.

The shift from the old rate of 1,507 to 15,000 is still far off the parallel market, where the pound was changing hands at about 57,000 per dollar on Tuesday.

The change will apply to banks, Mr Salameh said, leading to a decrease in the equity of the institutions at the centre of the country's 2019 financial implosion.