According to the data published by the Association of Lebanese Banks’ (ABL), the total number of cleared checks in the Lebanese financial system slumped from 878,074 checks by May 2022 to 231,909 checks by May 2023. Moreover, the cumulative value of cleared checks in local currency increased remarkably from LBP 13,765B by May 2022 to LBP 22,667B by May 2023. This upsurge is driven by a significant increase in value of Lebanese checks which reflects a larger percentage of discounting Lebanese checks in the market. Meanwhile, the cumulative value of cleared checks in foreign currency fell from $4,943M by May 2022 to $1,943M by May 2023.
Moreover, the volumes of cleared checks in Lebanese Pounds and foreign currencies witnessed significant yearly drops of 61.91% and 85.92% respectively to settle at 171,752 and 60,157 checks, by May 2023. Accordingly, the dollarization rate of checks in terms of volume fell from 48.64% in May 2022 to 25.94% in May 2023.
Notably, the number of returned checks fell substantially by 66.87% YOY to stand at 2,047 checks. Moreover, the value of returned checks in foreign currency increased by 67.16% by May 2023 to reach $112M, additionally the value of returned checks in local currency increased remarkably by 405.62% YOY to reach LBP 450B by May 2023.
Number of Checks by May 2023 (in Thousands)
Source: ABL, BLOMINVEST
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