According to the data published by the Association of Lebanese Banks’ (ABL), the total number of cleared checks in the Lebanese financial system decreased remarkably by 57.2% year over year (YoY) to 185,893 checks by December 2024. However, the cumulative value of cleared checks in local currency increased by 19.07% YoY to LBP 78,511B by December 2024. This upsurge in value of Lebanese checks given that the number of Lebanese checks issued decreased reflects higher denomination in LBP per check due to the exchange rate depreciation. However, the cumulative value of cleared checks in foreign currency dropped by 60.54%YoY to $ 1,299M by December 2024.
Moreover, the volumes of cleared checks in Lebanese Pounds and foreign currencies witnessed substantial yearly drop of 49.88% and 83.62% respectively to settle at 170,442 and 15,451 checks, by December 2024. Accordingly, the dollarization rate of checks in terms of volume fell from 21.71% in December 2023 to 8.31% in December 2024.
Notably, the number of returned checks dropped substantially by 67.65% YoY to stand at 1,088 checks in December 2024. Moreover, the value of returned checks in local & foreign currency decreased YoY respectively by 16.69% and 56.06% by December 2024 to record LBP 714B and $ 79.97M.
Banque du Liban (BDL) recently issued Circular 165, which permits depositors to make payments by check starting June 1st, 2023, as long as their accounts are in either fresh US dollars or Lebanese lira. To support this initiative, BDL has introduced a new clearing system, distinct from the one dedicated to pre-crisis deposits. This circular serves a dual purpose: it encourages customers to open new accounts in both Lebanese pounds and US dollars, while also aiming to decrease the country’s dependence on cash and stimulate economic recovery. As such, in December 2024, the cumulative number of checks issued from fresh accounts reached 32,614, of which 22,846 checks are in USD currency amounting $302.04M and 9,768 checks are in LBP currency amounting LBP 18,112B. On a monthly basis, the number of cleared checks in December 2024 was 4,092 checks.
Cleared Checks in 2024 (in 000s)
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