According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), the Lebanese gross public debt reached $71.04B in March 2016, a 2.32% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase and a 1.04% rise from December 2015’s level.
Debt in LBP, accounting for 61.6% of total gross debt, increased by 4.35% y-o-y to reach $43.79B, while foreign currency (FC) debt, grasping the remaining 38.4%, slid by 0.78% annually to stand at $27.25B.
The Net Public Debt, which excludes the public sector deposits at the Commercial banks and BDL, stood at $62.59B in March 2016, increasing by a yearly 6.99%.
Commercial banks remained the largest holders of local currency debt with a share of 44.0% of the total followed by a 39.7% stake for the Central Bank (BDL) and 16.3% for the non-banking system.
Domestic Currency Debt by Type of Holder in March 2016
Source: Association of Lebanese Banks