BDL Says USD Account Withdrawals Have $5,000 Monthly Cap

The central bank on Wednesday issued a statement clarifying its Tuesday memo, after the circular sparked a storm of controversy.

“Resolution 151 which was issued on 21/4/2020 allowed each client who has a USD account in Lebanese banks to withdraw cash in Lebanese lira at market rate on the condition that the withdrawals do not exceed $5,000 per month and only at the client's request,” BDL said.

“Banque du Liban did not mention lower caps, leaving it to every bank to decide the cap according to its capabilities,” BDL added.

“BDL issued this extraordinary circular to facilitate the lives of the Lebanese and to provide them with purchasing power and decent living and it was not aimed at withdrawing the entire values of the accounts as some have claimed,” the central bank went on to say.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Tuesday issued a memo asking banks to allow depositors with foreign currency accounts exceeding $3,000 in value to withdraw their savings in Lebanese pounds at the "market rate," likely to signify 2,600 pounds to the dollar.

He had issued a similar memo in recent weeks related to accounts containing less than $3,000 each.

Salameh said he issued the memo “out of keenness on the public interest amid the current extraordinary circumstances that the country is going through,” noting that the resolution is valid for six months. But critics have warned that such measures will have a detrimental impact on the value of the Lebanese pound.