Lebanese Commercial Banks’ Total Assets Down Year to Date by 5.97% to $203.84B in May. 2020

According to Lebanon’s consolidated commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets decreased by 5.97%, year-to-date (y-t-d), to stand at $203.84B in May 2020.

In details, Resident customers’ deposits (which grasp 56.73% of total liabilities) decreased since the start of the year by 7.50% ($9.38B) to $115.65B in May 2020, with deposits in LBP and in foreign currencies declining by 22% and 1.97% to $26.88B and $88.77B, respectively. As for the Non-resident customers’ deposits (14.26% of total liabilities), they retreated by 10.41% ($3.37B) and totaled $29B over the same period on the back of a drop in deposits in LBP and in foreign currencies by 23.95% and 8.96% to $2.38B and $26.68B, respectively. As such, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits increased from 76.02% in December 2019 to 79.57% in May 2020.

On the assets side, Reserves (constituting 57.23% of total assets) recorded y-t-d a downtick of 1.31% to settle at $116.66B in May 2020. Deposits with the central bank (BDL) (99.19% of total reserves) recorded a monthly downtick of 1.70% to reach $115.72B. Worth mentioning that starting December 2019 (and according to the offsetting criteria in IAS 32 “Financial Instruments: Presentation”), banks have offset their loans taken from BDL in LBP with their corresponding placements at BDL in LBP carrying the same maturities. Meanwhile, on Claims on resident customers (18.35% of total assets) retreated by 14.84%, to stand at $37.39B in May 2020.  Moreover, Claims on the government (12.75% of total assets) declined by 13.50% during the year to stand at $26B. In details, the subscription to T-bills in LBP and to Eurobonds recorded a decline by 4.35% and 23.90% to $14B and $10.51B, respectively in May. 2020.

Commercial Banks Assets and Residents Customer Deposits in May ($B)

Lebanese Commercial Banks’ Total Assets Down Year to Date by 5.97% to $203.84B in May. 2020

Source: BDL

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