According to BDL’s latest monetary report, the BOP recorded a cumulative deficit of $3.05B by September 2022, compared to a deficit of $1.58B over the same period last year. Accordingly, Net foreign Assets (NFAs) of BDL fell by $3.32B, as BDL has continued to make some intervention on Fx market through the “Sayrafa” rate while the NFAs of commercial banks increased by $269.4M by September 2022.
On a monthly basis, the BOP deficit stood at $48.5M; as NFAs of BDL surprisingly increased by $161.2M for the first time in 2022 while that of Commercial banks fell by $112.6M.
For a meaningful analysis, we examine the NFAs of commercial banks. For the month of September, it was dominated by the decrease in foreign liabilities and a larger decrease in foreign assets. On the liabilities side, “Non-resident financial sector liabilities” increased by only $10.98M, to reach $4.39B, while “Non-resident customers’ deposits” declined by $225.17M, to reach $23.39B by September 2022. On the asset side, however, “other foreign assets” declined by $248.84M, and “currency and deposits with other Central Banks” fell by $50.43M.
After three years for the October revolution, the balance of payment is recording persistent disequilibrium yet wider compared to year of 2021. This could be attributed to the significant adaptation of the Lebanese people towards the ongoing crisis as consumer’s behavior seems to readjust to the situation, despite higher international commodity and fuel prices, though higher imports of goods.
Balance of Payments (BoP) by September (in $M)
Source: BDL, BLOMINVEST