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

Circular No. 747
For Banks

We enclose herewith a copy of Circular No. 13771 dated 28/11/2025 concerning the amendment of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 (Exceptional Measures for the Repayment of Foreign Currency Deposits Constituted before 30/6/2023) attached to Basic Circular No. 166.

Beirut, on 28 November 2025

Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon
Karim Saeed

Circular No. 13771
Amendment of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024

The Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, pursuant to the Monetary and Loan Law, particularly Articles 70 and 174 thereof; pursuant to Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 and its amendments concerning exceptional measures for the repayment of foreign currency deposits constituted before 30/6/2023; pending a complete financial stability plan and the issuance of necessary laws to restructure public debt on one hand, and the Central Bank’s obligations towards commercial banks and subsequently depositors on the other; whereas the Central Bank currently lacks legal and legislative instruments enabling it to adopt a comprehensive financial policy that fairly treats all rights holders; and since the core and largest portion of banks’ mandatory foreign currency placements at the Central Bank belongs exclusively to depositors; in response to the urgent and humanitarian need of hundreds of thousands of depositors whose funds have been frozen in the financial and banking system for several years; to contribute to enhancing social stability and economic growth; to encourage citizens to use bank cards in order to reduce the use of cash; and based on a decision by the Central Bank’s Board of Directors taken in its meeting held on 26/11/2025, hereby decides the following:

Article One: The following paragraph is added to the "First" section of Article Two of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024:
« In exception to the provisions of this "First" section, the following shall benefit from the provisions of this Circular:

• Individual institutions.
• Associations licensed by the competent authorities.»

Article Two: The text of the "Second" and "Third" sections of Article Four of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 is repealed and replaced with the following:
« Second: An amount equivalent to 9,200 USD or less shall be transferred to the "Special Sub-Account" according to the amount available in the "Account Holder's" accounts at the relevant bank in US Dollars or any other foreign currency, according to the customer’s wish so that they have full freedom to determine the total value of the amount they can benefit from and deposit into the "Special Sub-Account" exceeding the amount corresponding to one annual cycle. (one year cycle) -2- Third: In case an "Account Holder" has multiple accounts at a specific bank, the "Account Holder" must specify the account or accounts to be transferred to the "Special Sub-Account". If the account is a joint or shared account, benefit from it shall be limited to a maximum amount of 9,200 USD. Joint account holders shall agree among themselves on the benefit ratio for each of them from this Circular’s provisions. If one party to a joint account decides not to benefit, any of the remaining parties may benefit from the permitted maximum limit. In case a joint account holder has an individual special account and decides to benefit from the individual account, their partner may benefit from the joint account.»

Article Three: The text of the first paragraph of the "Fifth" section of Article Four of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 is repealed and replaced with the following:
« - Bank secrecy shall be lifted, exclusively, regarding the "Special Sub-Accounts" solely in favor of the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Banking Control Commission, according to the attached models (PP-03-BDR-BDL) for natural persons and (MP-03-BDR-BDL) for legal persons referred to in the "First" section of Article Two above.»

Article Four: The text of items (1) and (2) of the "First" section of Article Five of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 is repealed and the said items are replaced with the following:
« 1. An amount of 500 USD monthly, without any direct or indirect commission or expense of any kind being charged on this operation, and the total amount that can be withdrawn annually under this Article shall not exceed 6,000 USD from all banks, paid as follows:

• 400 USD to the "Account Holder" in cash (Banknotes) and/or via transfer abroad and/or by bank cards that can be used in Lebanon and abroad and/or deposited into a new account (Account Fresh).
• 100 USD via bank cards used on point-of-sale devices (POS), exclusively. This amount is subject to adjustment by the Central Bank according to its monetary policy.
  The annual withdrawal cap from all banks during the current cycle ending on 30/6/2026 shall be adjusted to 5,500 USD.»

2. In case two or more persons benefit from joint accounts or unions according to this Circular’s provisions, the amounts specified in item (1) of this section, including POS payments, shall be paid proportionally (Prorata), i.e., according to the share allocated to each person from the amounts transferred to the "Special Sub-Accounts" from these joint accounts or unions.»

Article Five: This Circular shall take effect from 1/12/2025, applying the conditions of Circular No. 13611 dated 2/2/2024 as amended by this Circular for a period ending on 30/6/2026, subject to adjustment or renewal. The aforementioned Basic Circular shall remain in force until the transfer of all funds that can be moved to the "Special Sub-Account".

Article Six: This Circular shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Beirut, on 28 November 2025

Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon
Karim Saeed

Central Bank of Lebanon | Special Sub-Accounts Center | BDL-BDR-03-MP Bank Secrecy revelation proxy form / Authorization to lift bank secrecy for the Special Sub-Account BANQUE DU LIBAN | Banks Depositors Registry Name Bank: ______________________________________________________________________________ Name Branch: ____________________________________________________________________________ Date: //__________ Reference No.: _________________________ Internal Reference Number: _____________________________________________________________ BDR Unique Client Number: ________________________________________________________________________________ Information Client:
Name: __________________________________________________________________________________ Legal form: _________________________________________________________________________ Foundation date: ____________________________________________________________________ Registration No. – Place: ________________.No – Registration _________________________ Nationality: ____________________________________________________________________________ I, the undersigned, authorized signatory on behalf of the above mentioned client, In accordance with BDL basic circular No. 166 dated 2/2/2024, hereby waive the banking secrecy on the “Special sub-account” of the above mentioned client in favor of the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Banking Control Commission. __________________________________________ _________________________________________ (Authorized Signatory Signature) (Bank Stamp and Signature) (The director of the bank is held personally responsible for the authenticity of the signature)