Lebanon allows dollar withdrawal at rates weaker than official peg – The National

Lebanon allows dollar withdrawal at rates weaker than official peg – The National

Lebanon allows dollar withdrawal at rates weaker than official peg. People with accounts of up to $3,000 can withdraw funds at a new 'market rate' set daily by banks and exchange houses. With hardly any dollars circulating in the banking system, lenders will pay out at a "market rate" in Lebanese pounds to clients with accounts of up to $3,000 (Dh11,018), according to a central bank circular issued on Friday.. The rate will be set daily via an electronic platform including local lenders, the central bank and exchange bureaus, according to a separate statement.. Customers must empty their account in one go, and the scheme will run for three months.. Clients holding accounts in Lebanese pounds equivalent to $3,000 can transfer the amount into foreign currency at the fixed rate of 1,515 pounds to a dollar, and then withdraw at the new market rate, so they aren't at a disadvantage.. With the exception of funding made available to importers of essentials such as fuel and medicine, Lebanon's peg has in effect broken already, undone by the lack of sufficient hard-currency reserves and the drying up of dollar inflows, the government's main source of funding.. The dollar shortage led to the