ABL: Gold Reserve Management and Policy Implications in Lebanon

The article titled Protecting Gold Profits: Because Depositors Come First, written by Dr. Fadi Khalaf for the Association of Banks in Lebanon monthly bulletin in February 2026, presents a structured argument that gold should be treated as a managed financial asset rather than a static reserve. It begins by highlighting Lebanon’s exposure to valuation risk, noting that the country effectively lost around $11 billion in the notional value of its gold reserves following a decline in prices from approximately $5600 to $4400 per ounce. This example is used to question the common perception of gold as inherently safe and to emphasize that the main issue lies in the absence of active management. The article positions gold as a sovereign asset that can support depositors and the economy, but only if its value is protected through professional and timely intervention, especially given that global markets follow recurring cycles of increases, corrections, and recoveries.

For the full article click HERE.