Loans in fresh funds almost doubled in Lebanon in 2025, reaching $794 million in December. This recovery remains limited: it takes place in a total portfolio of credits which continues to decline. Data from the Bank of Lebanon make it possible to distinguish the restart of a credit compartment from the restoration of bank financing as a whole.
The increase in fresh loans in Lebanon is one of the contrasts of the macroeconomic review published by BDL in April 2026 in December 2025. This annual review provides information on a change in funding. It does not describe the offers available today from each bank. It also does not measure the number of enterprises or households that have actually regained access to credit.
Fresh loans in Lebanon increased from 418 million to 794 million
Outstanding loans and advances in fresh funds increased from $418 million in December 2024 to $794 million in December 2025. The increase is 376 million, or about 90 per cent. The BDL describes a still limited channel, fuelled by new foreign currency liquidity. The stock reached a high of 816 million in November, before returning slightly in December.
| Benchmark | Amount or share |
|---|---|
| Fresh loans, December 2024 | $418 million |
| Fresh loans, November 2025 | $816 million |
| Fresh loans, December 2025 | $794 million |
| December to December | +376 million dollars, about +90 % |
| Share in total appropriation end 2025 | About 15% |
These values are stocks observed at different dates. They do not constitute the total of new loans granted during the year. A credit disbursed and then repaid before December may have financed an activity without being included in the year-end stock. Conversely, an old loan still outstanding remains included in this stock.
The net increase of 376 million therefore makes it impossible to reconstruct gross credit production. This would require new disbursements, refunds and other movements in the portfolio. The distinction counts for businesses: the amount of money lent for 12 months may differ significantly from the amount outstanding on the last day.
An increase in a shrinking portfolio
At the same time, the total bank debt in question rose from about $5.9 billion at the end of 2024 to 5.2 billion at the end of 2025. The BDL figures their annual contraction at 12.5%, based on its unrounded data. The increase in the fresh compartment therefore does not compensate for the decrease in the total portfolio.
Its share rose from around 7% to 15%. Two movements contribute to this change: the numerator increases and the denominator decreases. This proportion cannot be interpreted as the share of loan applications accepted. Nor does it mean that 15% of Lebanese have a fresh credit.
The decline of $22 million between November and December also reminds us that the trajectory is not mechanically increasing. This monthly decline is not enough to diagnose a reversal. Without maturity and disbursement data, it may reflect several different movements. The annual balance sheet shows a net expansion, not assigning each change to a specific cause.
The amount does not indicate who is receiving funding
To assess the economic scope of this recovery, the breakdown of borrowers is decisive. The same amount may correspond to some large financing or many small credits. The consequences for small businesses’ access to finance are not the same. The aggregate series of fresh loans presented in this section of the report does not allow for a choice between these situations.
A distinction must also be made between the object of the loan. An advance to finance a commercial stock does not meet the same need as an investment credit or a housing loan. The total of 794 million must therefore not be presented as a real estate envelope. It also does not make it possible to conclude that all sectors have recovered evenly.
The duration, interest rate, guarantees and currency of the client’s income complement this diagnosis. Financing may exist while remaining inaccessible to a company that cannot provide the required collateral. Conversely, a company with regular inputs and revenues can access an offer that does not represent the overall economic fabric.
Funds available and balance sheet not combined
The development of a compartment fed with fresh funds does not by itself regulate the treatment of old claims and restricted deposits. An activity indicator measures what works within a given perimeter. It does not constitute an audit of the assets or proof of solvency of each institution.
This distinction joins the framework recalled by the IMF services in their communiqué of 13 February 2026. They linked the restoration of a viable banking system to restructuring, respect for the debt hierarchy and the resources actually available. They also stressed that the State’s contribution must remain compatible with the sustainability of public debt.
It would therefore be excessive to read the doubling almost reached in 2025 as the repair of the sector. But ignoring this progression would also erase a measurable change. The useful reading is to follow separately the fresh credit, the old portfolios and the conditions under which new financing is granted.
In order to measure the follow-up, the next figures will have to specify, inter alia, the evolution of the stock, the production of loans and their distribution. As long as these dimensions remain incomplete, the established result remains that of 2025: a strong progression from a weak base in a system whose total credit continues to contract.
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