Foreign Exchange Operations at Banks and Financial Institutions

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Circular No. 762

For Banks, Financial Institutions, and Supervised Entities

We enclose a copy of Intermediary Decision No. 13816 dated May 8, 2026, concerning the amendment of Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997 (Foreign Exchange Operations at Banks and Financial Institutions), attached to Basic Circular No. 32.

Beirut, May 8, 2026

Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon

Karim Saeed

Intermediary Decision No. 13816

Amendment of Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997

The Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon,
Pursuant to the Monetary and Exchange Law, particularly Articles 70 and 174 thereof, And pursuant to Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997, and its amendments concerning foreign exchange operations at banks and financial institutions, And pursuant to the decision of the Central Council of the Central Bank of Lebanon taken in its session held on May 6, 2026, Hereby decides as follows:

Article One: The text of the "third" paragraph of "Article 9 repeated" of Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997 is repealed and replaced with the following:

"Third: In case the open foreign exchange position is long (Position Open FX Long), a bank is considered to have exceeded the limit if its net open foreign exchange position exceeds 1% of the total gross core equity assets. Banks are granted a deadline of December 31, 2026 to settle any excess in net open foreign exchange long positions under penalty of being required to pay a special reserve in Lebanese currency at the Central Bank of Lebanon amounting to three times the excess, calculated based on the exchange rate announced on the platform approved by the Central Bank of Lebanon, for a period of one month for each day of excess after December 31, 2026."

Article Two: The text of the "fifth" paragraph of "Article 9 repeated" of Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997 is repealed.

Article Three: The text of the "sixth" paragraph of "Article 9 repeated" of Basic Decision No. 6568 dated April 24, 1997 is repealed and replaced with the following:

"Sixth: Banks exceeding the maximum limit allowed for net open foreign exchange long positions according to the 'third' paragraph of this Article may apply to the Central Bank of Lebanon for a justified request to obtain approval for an additional specific long foreign exchange position."

Article Four: This decision shall take effect upon its issuance.

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

Beirut, May 8, 2026

Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon

Karim Saeed