The issuance by the Banque du Liban of its new circular requiring financial institutions that deal with financial operations to obtain a license from it to carry out banking operations with the aim of purchasing foreign currencies transferred from abroad to those who wish to exchange them, falls within the framework of the financial and monetary policy to fix the exchange rate as one of the conditions of the IMF International.
In this context, financial expert Bilal Nakhal says that the Central Bank returns, in its financial policy, to the policies implemented in the early 1990s, by withdrawing the surplus of liquidity in the market and limiting it only to the Central Bank, in order to be the only one in control of the cutting operations.
Nakhal points out that the Banque du Liban, with its statement issued today, strikes with an iron fist, and obliges all financial companies, especially those working in the field of foreign transfers, to obtain licenses and follow the exchange rate, and thus it has extended its authority over the largest number of outlets that would control the rate of exchange. Exchange.
And he continues: As for the sequence followed by the Banque du Liban, it was as follows:
– Pump the dollar.
– Absorption of the surplus of the Lebanese currency, especially those of banking companies.
Gradually reducing the exchange rate.
Nakhal points out that the scarcity of the Lebanese currency from the banks and forcing depositors to withdraw their money in dollars according to their exchange – despite the fact that the banks brought into their funds billions of the Lebanese currency through daily exchange operations – increases the demand for the Lebanese pound from the market in conjunction with the supply of the dollar, and this This raises the pressure on the black market to force it to get rid of the surplus currency to withdraw the controlling leash from the hands of this market.
Banque du Liban circular
Today, the Banque du Liban issued a new circular to banks and financial institutions, and to institutions that deal in financial and banking operations by electronic means, bearing the number 614, aimed at allowing non-banking institutions to engage in money exchange business.
Under the new circular for non-banking institutions that carry out external cash transfers by electronic means, the Banque du Liban allowed them to request, directly or indirectly, to obtain a license from it to carry out exchange operations, with the aim of purchasing foreign currency transferred from abroad to their customers who wish to exchange them, and that With the aim of selling it completely and exclusively to the Banque du Liban, provided that the annual volume of its incoming foreign operations is not less than 50 million US dollars during the year preceding the date of submitting its application to the Banque du Liban.