Report: BDL to Issue New Circular Regarding ‘Medium Depositors’
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said it was the Directorate’s responsibility to control money exchange shops in order to stabilize the dollar rate to the Lebanese pound, noting that a new BDL circular will be issued regarding medium bank deposits, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.
“Monitoring money exchange shops is in my jurisdiction because social and economic security is one of my duties. Most importantly is that we reached a result with BDL Governor (Riad Salameh) to unlock around 1.715 million bank accounts of small depositors allowing them to cash out,” Ibrahim said in remarks to the daily.
He noted that meetings have intensified in the last 48 hours between BDL and local banks in order to put this circular into action.
“What we are doing is controlling the dollar’s hike as the monetary block turns into Lebanese currency,” said Ibrahim.
BDL circular published on April 3, 2020 allows small Lebanese depositors whose bank deposits amount to 5 million Lebanese pounds or less, to convert their savings into USD at the official rate and then withdraw them in LBP at market rate.
Account holders of $3,000 or less, will also be allowed to withdraw their savings at the “market rate.”
A liquidity crisis in Lebanon had seen banks gradually restrict access to dollars and halt transfers abroad since fall 2019, leading the value of the Lebanese pound to plummet on the black market.
Ibrahim said he held a meeting with money exchange houses and it was agreed that an action plan be set in place, as they vowed to control the dollar rate in accordance with BDL circular.
He noted that “upon the completion of this circular, we will start working on another circular and a second plan for medium depositors to close all accounts, which constitute 61 to 62% of deposits in Lebanese banks.”
Source: Naharnet
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