The Association of Banks in Lebanon revealed that the Lebanese commercial banks will work with the central bank to determine the daily exchange rate for the dollar pending the completion of the establishment and operation of a new trading system.
The Central Bank of Lebanon launched a unit of foreign exchange to control the dollar rate of exchange, as part of efforts to curb the parallel market in light of a currency shortfall amid a deepening financial crisis.
According to a previous circular issued by the Central Bank of Lebanon, it is possible to withdraw deposits less than 3 thousand dollars in Lebanese pounds at the price of the "market", which allows small depositors to obtain their savings in cash despite severe banking restrictions.
It should be noted that the Lebanese Lira was officially pegged at 1507.5 against the US dollar 22 years ago, but in recent months it has been widely circulated in an informal parallel market as it has become the main source of cash for citizens during the crisis.
Its value in that market has tumbled nearly 50% against the official exchange rate since October, after foreign investment inflows scarred and anti-government protests erupted.
The currency traded at about 2,800 pounds to the dollar in the informal market in recent days, despite efforts by the authorities to impose an exchange rate of two thousand Liras to the dollar.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net website, Edited)
