Exceptional Measures for the Repayment of Foreign Currency Deposits Constituted before 30 June 2023

Circular No. 737 for Banks

We wish to attach a copy of Decision No. 13726 dated 18/06/2025 concerning the amendment of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024 (Exceptional Measures for the Repayment of Foreign Currency Deposits Constituted before 30/06/2023) attached to Circular No. 166.

Beirut, on 18 June 2025

Governor of Bank Lebanon
Karim Saeed

Decision No. 13726

Amendment of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024

The Governor of Bank Lebanon,
Pursuant to the Monetary and Banking Law, particularly Articles 70 and 174 thereof, Pursuant to Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024 and its amendments concerning exceptional measures for the repayment of foreign currency deposits constituted before 30/06/2023, Whereas the conditions of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024 and its amendments apply until 30/06/2025, And pending a complete plan to restore financial stability and the issuance of necessary laws to restructure public debt on one hand, and Bank Lebanon’s obligations towards commercial banks and subsequently depositors on the other, And since Bank Lebanon currently lacks legal and legislative instruments enabling it to adopt a comprehensive financial policy that fairly treats all stakeholders, And since the core and largest portion of banks’ mandatory foreign currency placements with Bank Lebanon belongs exclusively to depositors, And in response to the urgent and humanitarian need of hundreds of thousands of depositors whose funds have remained frozen in the financial and banking system for several years, And to contribute to enhancing social stability and economic growth, And based on the powers vested in the Governor to ensure the operation of Bank Lebanon according to the principle of public service continuity,

Decides as follows:

Article One: The text of paragraphs "secondly" and "thirdly" of Article Four of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024 is repealed and replaced with the following text:
« Secondly: An amount equivalent to 8,500 USD or less, according to the amount available in the "Account Holder's" accounts at the relevant bank in US dollars or any other foreign currency, shall be transferred to the "Sub-Account". This is done according to the customer's preference, allowing them full freedom to determine the exact amount they can benefit from and deposit into the "Sub-Account", provided it exceeds the amount corresponding to one annual cycle. (one year cycle) Thirdly: If an "Account Holder" has multiple accounts at a specific bank, the "Account Holder" must designate the account or accounts from which funds will be transferred to the "Sub-Account". If an account is a joint or shared account, benefit from it shall be limited to a maximum amount of 8,500 USD. Joint account holders shall agree among themselves on the benefit ratio of each party under this decision. If one party to a joint account decides not to benefit, any of the remaining parties may benefit from the permitted maximum limit. If a joint account holder has an individual sub-account and elects to benefit from the individual account, their partner may benefit from the joint account.» ../..

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Article Two: The text of paragraph (1) of the first paragraph of Article Five of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024 is repealed and replaced with the following text:
« (1) An amount of 4,800 USD shall be paid monthly in cash (Banknotes) to the "Account Holder" and/or transferred abroad or deposited into a new account (Fresh Account), without any direct or indirect commission or fee of any kind being charged on this transaction. The total amount that can be withdrawn annually from all banks under this article shall not exceed 4,800 USD.

Article Three: This decision shall take effect from 01/07/2025, whereby the conditions of Decision No. 13611 dated 02/02/2024, as amended by this decision, shall apply for a one-year period renewable or amendable. It remains in force until all funds that can be transferred to the "Sub-Account" are disbursed.

Article Four: This decision shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Beirut, on 18 June 2025

Governor of Bank Lebanon
Karim Saeed