The Lebanese central bank extends the sale of dollars to homeless banks until the end of May

Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank of Lebanon announced that the bank has extended a circular allowing banks to buy dollars without a roof on the central bank’s exchange platform until the end of May 2022.

Lebanon is going through a third year of financial collapse caused by decades of corruption and bad policies that have resulted in the currency losing more than 90% of its value and banks have prevented most savers from accessing accounts. in hard currency. A government bailout project in early questyear estimated a gap of about $ 70 billion in the financial sector.

Lebanese banks have been a major lender to the government for decades, helping to finance a profligate and corrupt state that suffered a financial meltdown in 2019.

The crash prevented depositors from accessing their savings, and the local currency lost more than 90% of its value.

The Association of Lebanese Banks rejected an earlier draft of the plan in February, saying it would lead to a loss of confidence in the financial sector.