Central Bank of Lebanon sets new withdrawal rate from dollar deposits – The National

Central Bank of Lebanon sets new withdrawal rate from dollar deposits – The National

The Central Bank of Lebanon set a new rate on Thursday for withdrawals from US dollar deposits in Lebanese pounds at 8,000 to the greenback.

The new withdrawal rate comes a year after the central bank issued circular 151 that allowed depositors to withdraw dollars, with the funds paid in the local currency at a rate of 3,900 pounds to the greenback. The central bank also set a monthly withdrawal ceiling of $3,000 equivalent in Lebanese pounds, according to Thursday's circular seen by The National.

Lebanon, one of the world's most indebted nations, had maintained a peg of 1,507.5 pounds to the dollar since 1997. The currency's value against the greenback plunged in 2019 as the government defaulted on about $31 billion of eurobonds, accelerating the country's economic decline into what the World Bank called last year a "deliberate depression".