Banking crisis in Lebanon Ep.4: the banks’ real liquidity in April 2026
April 2026: the central bank has $54.26 billion in external assets. But remove the gold (42.71 Md) Two other tests confirm this: the 14% regulatory ratio applied to foreign currency deposits would already exceed the liquid assets published, and the real liquidity of commercial banks (net cash after corresponding debts) represents only 4.89% of the customer deposits in foreign currency — barely above the 3% prudential floor. The actual residue: $1.59 billion, even before operational requirements. Meanwhile, banks’ deposits with the central bank (89.90% of foreign currency customer deposits) remain a domestic debt, not an independent external liquidity.
Sources: external balance sheet of the Central Bank of Lebanon (April 2026), consolidated balance sheet of commercial banks (April 2026).
