The Lebanese Association of Banks released its monthly report on economic, financial, and banking developments in April 2024. The report highlighted that public finances had a surplus of 611 billion pounds in December 2021, following a surplus of 168 billion pounds in the previous month and a deficit of 45 billion pounds in December 2020. By the end of January 2023, the public debt denominated in Lebanese pounds had reached 91,795 billion pounds, which was a 0.7% increase from the end of December 2022.
In addition to public finances, private sector deposits with banks also saw significant changes. Private sector deposits in pounds increased to 56,213 billion pounds at the end of April 2024 compared to March and December of the same year. However, private sector deposits in foreign currencies decreased slightly to about $90.05 billion at the end of April compared to March and December.
Another aspect that saw a decline was loans to the private sector in pounds at banks. These loans decreased to 10,356 billion pounds at the end of April compared to March/December 2024 and December
