Banking sector to adopt new official exchange rate of 15,000 in February

From now on, BDL will issue circulars to amend operations on this basis.

Those who were benefiting from Circular 151, thus withdrawing dollars from their old bank accounts at a rate of 8,000 LBP to the dollar, will start and, as of the beginning of February, withdraw their old dollar savings at the new official rate of 15,000 LBP to the dollar.

However, banking sources indicate that in parallel with this amendment, banks will reduce the ceiling allowed to be withdrawn per month according to each bank and the size of the client's account.

On the other hand, Circular 158 will also be modified, and the amount of 400 dollars in cash dollars will remain the same. However, banks will price the 400 dollars in LBP as of February at the new exchange rate of 15,000 LBP instead of 12,000 LBP. As usual, half of the amount will be in cash Liras, and the other half will be deposited into a debit card for use at stores with POS machines or online. Thus the client would ultimately receive monthly: 400 dollars in cash, 3 million LBP in cash, and 3 million LBP deposited into a debit card.

As for pending loans in dollars, if the client resides in Lebanon, they will start paying their loans at the new rate of 15,000 LBP to the dollar. This amendment applies to all personal, car, and commercial loans. Housing loans, on the other hand, are likely, according to the information, to remain payable at the rate of 1,500 LBP to the dollar.

As for expats, they will be obligated to settle their monthly payments in fresh dollars. However, it is noteworthy that until the end of this month, banks will allow clients with small loans to pay their entire loan if they want, with a bank check in dollars or LBP at an exchange rate of 8,000 LBP to the dollar.