Regulatory Alerts2025-09-10 | 13749Exceptional Restrictions Relating to Some Banking Operations
The Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon has issued Interim Decision No. 13749 to amend Basic Decision No. 13353 by repealing and replacing Article Two bis, which mandates that banks issuing Lebanese Lira bank checks and certified checks must verify under their own responsibility that the issuance serves legitimate personal, commercial, or tax-related purposes and does not drive currency speculation. The amended provision requires these checks to bear the explicit phrase "Payable only to the first beneficiary (non-transferable)" and takes immediate effect upon publication in the Official Gazette. This regulatory update directly tightens exceptional restrictions on banking operations to stabilize domestic currency markets and curb speculative check issuance.