Unveiling Lebanons Central Bank Reserves: From $30 Billion to $8.4 Billion Amid Transparency Efforts

Unveiling Lebanons Central Bank Reserves: From $30 Billion to $8.4 Billion Amid Transparency Efforts

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2023-08-08 | 09:00

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Unveiling Lebanon's Central Bank Reserves: From $30 Billion to $8.4 Billion Amid Transparency Efforts"

What's Left in Lebanon's Central Bank Reserves?

Approximately $8.4 billion represents the remaining cash from depositors' funds.

This amount has dwindled from around $30 billion at the beginning of the crisis.

This figure was revealed through an inventory prepared by a team from the Lebanese Central Bank to be presented to the government.

According to sources, it will be officially announced and continuously updated as changes occur, alongside the publication of the central bank's foreign exchange movements – detailing its holdings, assets like gold, ownership of institutions like Middle East Airlines, real estate, and more.

This is in line with the desire of lawmakers to handle the figures with utmost transparency.

This move comes in the wake of leaked reports from KPMG and Oliver Wyman, auditing the central bank's financials up to March 2021.

The task had been assigned by the Hassan Diab government in 2020. The reports carried observations on the mechanisms employed by the central bank in terms of its figures and financial data, including:

Accumulation of losses due to its monetary policy, fixed exchange rate, and financial engineering.

Due to these losses, it needs recapitalization and infusion of funds.

The central