BDL Asks Banks to Pay Monthly Fresh Dollars to Depositors

BDL Asks Banks to Pay Monthly Fresh Dollars to Depositors

The Banque du Liban (BDL) -- Lebanon's central bank -- on Friday issued a memo to Lebanese banks to monthly pay every depositor $400 in "fresh“ cash as well as the equivalent of $400 in Lebanese lira at the Sayrafa platform rate.

The memo says the sums that the banks will pay in the first year will be paid from "their accounts at the correspondent banks abroad, estimated to contain $1.0-1.2 billion.“

"The banks will also be able to withdraw the same sums from BDL in return for their obligatory deposits,“ the memo adds.

It says the move will enlarge the monetary base by $26-27 trillion in a year, effectively paying the full value of the accounts of 800,000 depositors, or around 70% of the total number of depositors.

"Banks can use the %3, except for the fresh dollar accounts,“ BDL said, adding that it has decided to "lower obligatory foreign currency reserves from 15% to 14%.“

It added that the memo will enter into effect as of July 1, 2021, noting that it will serve as "a gateway for addressing the situations of the banks that do not abide by it.“

A leaked letter sent by the Association of Banks in Lebanon to Salameh meanwhile