Cleared Checks’ Activity Reveals Preference for Local Currency

According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), Lebanon’s value of cleared checks plunged  by 6.49% year-on-year (y-o-y), where the number of checks cleared by Banque du Liban reached 10.26M worth $56.63B by October 2016, compared  to 10.39M checks with a value of $60.56B, in the same period of 2015.

Moreover, the total value of checks in foreign currencies dropped by 10.19% y-o-y by October 2016 to $40.30B, while the value of checks denominated in Lebanese Pounds increased by a yearly 4.09% to reach $16.37B. Accordingly, the dollarization rate of checks, declined from 74.09% by October 2015 to 71.16% this year. The value of returned checks registered a yearly rise of 6.50% to stand at $1.37B by October 2016.

As for the month of October alone, the value of cleared checks fell by 4.10% y-o-y to reach $5.99B. In details, the value of checks denominated in foreign currencies, constituting 70.34% of the total, fell 7.38% to $4.21B, while the value of checks in local currency increased by 4.69% y-o-y to $1.78B.

Value of Cleared Checks by October ($M)

Source: ABL