Beyond Sayrafa, unveiling the new Bloomberg trading platform: Implications for exchange rate and economy

3^min

On the Cabinet's agenda next week, the Ministry of Finance will present the adoption of the Bloomberg trading platform for the market.

What is the purpose of this new platform? Will it affect the exchange rate?

Sources from the Central Bank of Lebanon suggest that the Sayrafa platform is no longer needed.

From one aspect, the Central Bank of Lebanon is no longer intervening to stabilize the exchange rate, which has remained relatively constant since the beginning of the month.

From another aspect, there is no longer a difference between the market rate and the Sayrafa platform rate, which have been closely aligned for a while.

From here, the Bloomberg platform will be the alternative, reflecting the exchange rate in the market clearly announced on Bloomberg's global websites and platforms instead of having applications and websites determining the exchange rate.

This platform will be available to all citizens who want to buy and sell US dollars or Lebanese lira, unlike the exclusivity that existed with the Sayrafa platform, which benefited a certain number of people and generated profits from the differences between the Sayrafa rate and the market rate, at the expense of the remaining US dollars at the Central Bank of Lebanon, meaning at the expense of all depositors.

According to Central Bank of Lebanon sources, the most important thing is that the Bloomberg platform will help achieve two goals:

First, an attempt to regulate the cash economy, as only licensed banks and exchange offices will deal with Bloomberg.

Therefore, it will naturally be required for them to verify the sources of funds for each individual or company. This contributes to combating money laundering.

Second, it aims to move towards unifying the exchange rate, a requirement by the International Monetary Fund to reduce market chaos.

Will the Bloomberg platform help reduce the US dollar exchange rate?

Indeed, the Bloomberg platform is not the solution to Lebanon's exchange rate crisis. Nothing can solve it except starting with reforms to restore trust and US dollars to the country.