Documentary Credits

279 / Text/Section/1 R/52 T/2025-12-31

Basic Circular for Banks No. 52

We hereby enclose a copy of Basic Decision No. 7144 dated October 30, 1998, concerning Documentary Credits and Bills of Exchange.

Beirut, October 30, 1998
Governor of Banque du Liban
Riad Toufic Salamé
Old Reference No. 1667

Basic Decision No. 7144
Documentary Credits and Bills of Exchange

The Governor of Banque du Liban,
Pursuant to the Monetary and Credit Law,
And pursuant to the resolution adopted by the Central Council in its meeting held on October 28, 1998, Decrees as follows:

Article One: Establishment of Special Cash Margins for Documentary Credits:

1. First: Banks operating in Lebanon are required to charge their clients a cash margin of fifteen percent (15%) on the value of all documentary credits, whether open or to be opened for imports, including operations conducted on behalf of official departments and independent services, in the same foreign currencies agreed upon in the credit opening letters.
   Cash margins are established and calculated as follows:

• 1. Margins collected from clients must be reflected by banks in the total value of these margins within the financial institutions' statement - Statement No. 2 (Assets) under the sub-section "Collateral for Import Documentary Credits" with the specific automated sorting code 20871.
• 2. For revolving credits, cash margins are calculated periodically based on the authorized amount usable during a specified period.
     1 - This paragraph was amended pursuant to Decision No. 7200 dated January 13, 1999 (Circular 1692 - old numbering).

Second: Operations known as "back-to-back" are exempt from the cash margin, provided that the destination country is not Lebanon. Their value shall be recorded in financial institutions' statements - Statement No. 3 (Off-Balance Sheet) under the sub-section "Other Triangular Operations" with the specific automated sorting code 30143.

1. Third: Banks are prohibited from granting their clients facilities to establish the cash margin referred to in the "First" paragraph of this Article.

2. Article One (Repeated): Exceptional Procedures for Import and Export:
   Exceptionally, as long as the concept of Basic Decision No. 13217 dated April 9, 2020 remains in force, clients are required to:
   First: Establish the margin referred to in Article One above against import credits, transit credits, triangular credits, readiness credits, guarantees issued on behalf of foreign entities, and deferred payment import bills (guaranteed or unguaranteed by banks), in cash (banknotes) or from funds transferred from abroad into a new account (fresh account) upon the creation of the obligation by the bank (at credit opening, guarantee issuance, or delivery of import bill...), to be retained until final settlement or resulting acceptance. Second: Repatriate all foreign currency proceeds from export operations into the (fresh account), whether exports are conducted via bills or documentary credits, with banks verifying this and taking appropriate follow-up measures. Clients retain the freedom to use these funds for all banking services provided by the bank, including foreign transfers, cash withdrawals, and domestic/international banking card services.

1 - This paragraph was added pursuant to Article One of Interim Decision No. 13288 dated November 4, 2020 (Interim Circular No. 574). 2 - This Article was added pursuant to Article Two of Interim Decision No. 13288 dated November 4, 2020 (Interim Circular No. 574), and subsequently amended by Interim Decision No. 13787 dated December 30, 2025 (Interim Circular No. 748).

1. Article Two: Deposit of Data Concerning Documentary Credits and Bills Movement to Banque du Liban:
2. All banks must provide the Economics Department monthly with statements of documentary credits and bills, no later than the twelfth day of the month following the reported month, via the electronic statistical reporting transmission project (eSTR).
3. Article Three: The following regulatory texts issued by Banque du Liban are repealed:
   Circular for Banks No. 133 dated June 11, 1974 Circular for Banks No. 134 dated July 12, 1974 Circular for Banks No. 135 dated July 23, 1974 Circular for Banks No. 136 dated August 6, 1974 Circular for Banks No. 154 dated July 4, 1975 Circular for Banks No. 178 dated December 12, 1977 Circular for Banks No. 371 dated December 17, 1982 Circular for Banks No. 817 dated July 27, 1988

Article Four: This Decision takes effect upon its issuance.
Article Five: This Decision shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Beirut, October 30, 1998
Governor of Banque du Liban
Riad Toufic Salamé

1 - This Article was amended pursuant to Article One of Interim Decision No. 10182 dated June 26, 2009 (Interim Circular No. 193), effective as of the June 2009 statement. 2 - The department's name was updated to "Economics Department" instead of "Statistics and Economic Research Directorate" pursuant to Decision No. 13779 dated November 28, 2025. 3 - Circular numbers follow the old numbering system.

1. Movement of Open Documentary Credits - Form 1MX
Bank Name: ...............
Monthly Statement as of /.../...
Banque du Liban 1. Economics Department Bank No.: ...............
Values in millions of Lebanese Lira

Item | Number | Value
100 For Import to Lebanon
110 Discrepancies/Adjustments
120 Credit Position at End of Previous Month
130 Credits Opened During Reported Month
140 Credits Expired/Closed During Reported Month 141 Used/Executed Credits 142 Unused/Canceled or Expired Credits 150 Credit Position at End of Month 151 Confirmed/Secured 152 Unconfirmed/Unsecured 200 For Export from Lebanon 210 Discrepancies/Adjustments 220 Credit Position at End of Previous Month 230 Credits Opened During Reported Month 240 Credits Expired/Closed During Reported Month 241 Used/Executed Credits 242 Unused/Canceled or Expired Credits 250 Credit Position at End of Month 251 Confirmed/Secured 252 Unconfirmed/Unsecured 300 For Transit via Lebanon 310 Discrepancies/Adjustments 320 Credit Position at End of Previous Month 330 Credits Opened During Reported Month 340 Credits Expired/Closed During Reported Month 341 Used/Executed Credits 342 Unused/Canceled or Expired Credits 350 Credit Position at End of Month 351 Confirmed/Secured 352 Unconfirmed/Unsecured 500 Triangular for Outside Lebanon* 510 Discrepancies/Adjustments 520 Credit Position at End of Previous Month 530 Credits Opened During Reported Month 540 Credits Expired/Closed During Reported Month 541 Used/Executed Credits 542 Unused/Canceled or Expired Credits 550 Credit Position at End of Month 551 Confirmed/Secured 552 Unconfirmed/Unsecured

1 - Forms 1MX, 2MX, and 3MX replaced previous forms pursuant to Article One of Interim Decision No. 12576 dated June 6, 2017 (Interim Circular No. 466), effective as of July 31, 2017. 2 - The department's name was updated to "Economics Department" instead of "Statistics and Economic Research Directorate" pursuant to Decision No. 13779 dated November 28, 2025.

Repeated 284-1
Movement of Documentary Bills - Form 2MX
Bank Name: ...............
Monthly Statement as of /.../...
Banque du Liban 2. Economics Department Bank No.: ...............
Values in millions of Lebanese Lira

Item | Number | Value
100 For Import
110 Discrepancies/Adjustments
120 Bill Position at End of Previous Month
130 Incoming Bills During Reported Month
140 Outgoing Bills During Reported Month
141 Collected Bills (cash or acceptances)
142 Bills Transferred to Another Bank for Collection 143 Returned Bills 150 Bill Position at End of Month 200 For Export 210 Discrepancies/Adjustments 220 Bill Position at End of Previous Month 230 Incoming Bills During Reported Month 240 Outgoing Bills During Reported Month 241 Collected Bills (cash or acceptances) 242 Bills Transferred to Another Bank for Collection 243 Returned Bills 250 Bill Position at End of Month 300 Documentary Bills for Payment (Inside Lebanon) 310 Discrepancies/Adjustments 320 Bill Position at End of Previous Month 330 Incoming Bills During Reported Month 340 Outgoing Bills During Reported Month 341 Collected Bills (cash or acceptances) 342 Bills Transferred to Another Bank for Collection 343 Returned Bills 350 Bill Position at End of Month 400 Documentary Bills for Collection (Inside Lebanon) 410 Discrepancies/Adjustments 420 Bill Position at End of Previous Month 430 Incoming Bills During Reported Month 440 Outgoing Bills During Reported Month 441 Collected Bills (cash or acceptances) 442 Bills Transferred to Another Bank for Collection 443 Returned Bills 450 Bill Position at End of Month

Banks must include bills transferred to them from other banks with incoming bills during the month (Section 22 of this statement). Must match:
a- Item 350 + 150 (Import to Lebanon + Documentary Bills for Payment inside Lebanon) matches automated sorting code (31370). b- Item 450 + 250 (Export from Lebanon + Documentary Bills for Collection inside Lebanon) matches automated sorting code (31341 + 31351).

1 - Forms 1MX, 2MX, and 3MX replaced previous forms pursuant to Article One of Interim Decision No. 12576 dated June 6, 2017 (Interim Circular No. 466), effective as of July 31, 2017. 2 - The department's name was updated to "Economics Department" instead of "Statistics and Economic Research Directorate" pursuant to Decision No. 13779 dated November 28, 2025.

Repeated 284-2
Banque du Liban 1. Economics Department
Values in millions of Lebanese Lira 2. Movement of Documentary Credits "By Sector" - Form 4MX
Monthly Statement as of .../.../....

Import / Export | Country | Sector (Oil & Gas, Construction/Building, Foodstuffs, Livestock/Meat/Fish, Industrial/Agricultural Goods, Light/Medium/Heavy Machinery, Clothing/Shoes/Leather, Electronics/Electrical Tools, Beverages, Tobacco/Cigarettes, Precious Metals/Jewelry, Services, Other Sectors) Number | Value (repeated for each sector/country combination) Countries: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, France, China

1 - The department's name was updated to "Economics Department" instead of "Statistics and Economic Research Directorate" pursuant to Decision No. 13779 dated November 28, 2025. 2 - Form 4MX replaced Form 3MX pursuant to Article One of Interim Decision No. 13091 dated July 26, 2019 (Interim Circular No. 522), effective as of September 30, 2019.