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This is a very serious and critical issue. I no longer trust the banking system in this country. I have two accounts one in EUR and one in USD.

- I cannot withdraw USD even from my own account
- I can no longer transfer money internally between accounts ( EUR to USD and vice versa )
- I can no longer make an international wire transfer ( purchasing good remotely even with an invoice)
- I can no longer deposit cheques into my account if the value is above $3000 USD ( it has to be corporate account- BLOM)
- Bank informed me that starting from Nov. 1, there will be an additional fee of 1.5% PER TRANSACTION on my EUR card from my EUR account and 4% on the USD card if POS is abroad.
- Bank lowered my CREDIT card limit to 20% of it's limit.
- My monthly housing loan payment in LBP increased by 13% ( Bank Of Beirut )
Thank you for the info Kareem.

I am afraid it looks like the same old trend of making middle class and poorer people pay for the government deficit.

The points about not being able to deposit checks above $3000 and blocking international transfers are odd.
rolf wroteThank you for the info nuclearcat.

I am afraid it looks like the same old trend of making middle class and poorer people pay for the government deficit.
I'm not aware of any nuclearcat around ^_^
Kareem wrote
rolf wroteThank you for the info nuclearcat.

I am afraid it looks like the same old trend of making middle class and poorer people pay for the government deficit.
I'm not aware of any nuclearcat around ^_^
Thanks I will correct it. Not sure how this happened.
There is a nuclearcat around here but not in this thread.
Kareem wrote This is a very serious and critical issue. I no longer trust the banking system in this country. I have two accounts one in EUR and one in USD.

- I cannot withdraw USD even from my own account
- I can no longer transfer money internally between accounts ( EUR to USD and vice versa )
- I can no longer make an international wire transfer ( purchasing good remotely even with an invoice)
- I can no longer deposit cheques into my account if the value is above $3000 USD ( it has to be corporate account- BLOM)
- Bank informed me that starting from Nov. 1, there will be an additional fee of 1.5% PER TRANSACTION on my EUR card from my EUR account and 4% on the USD card if POS is abroad.
- Bank lowered my CREDIT card limit to 20% of it's limit.
- My monthly housing loan payment in LBP increased by 13% ( Bank Of Beirut )
WTH this is fucked up!
Why did they increase the housing payment by 13%! what kind of loan did you take? isn't it "مدعوم من مصرف لبنان" or iskan one? is it an LBP loan or USD one?
You think this is disastrous and you are on the withdrawing end, what do you think the ones in desperate need of loans are going through right now!
sero wrote
Kareem wrote This is a very serious and critical issue. I no longer trust the banking system in this country. I have two accounts one in EUR and one in USD.

- I cannot withdraw USD even from my own account
- I can no longer transfer money internally between accounts ( EUR to USD and vice versa )
- I can no longer make an international wire transfer ( purchasing good remotely even with an invoice)
- I can no longer deposit cheques into my account if the value is above $3000 USD ( it has to be corporate account- BLOM)
- Bank informed me that starting from Nov. 1, there will be an additional fee of 1.5% PER TRANSACTION on my EUR card from my EUR account and 4% on the USD card if POS is abroad.
- Bank lowered my CREDIT card limit to 20% of it's limit.
- My monthly housing loan payment in LBP increased by 13% ( Bank Of Beirut )
WTH this is fucked up!
Why did they increase the housing payment by 13%! what kind of loan did you take? isn't it "مدعوم من مصرف لبنان" or iskan one? is it an LBP loan or USD one?
I have the one مدعوم من مصرف لبنان and it's in LBP.

They said they did " إعادة جدولة " and the interest rate on LBP increased.

What's even worse is that they're withdrawing money from my USD account @ 1502 LBP / 1 USD.

This is stealing in broad daylight....
my experience in BOB:

My account is in USD:
- i can withdraw up to 600$ per day from ATM (if there's $ available, which is very unlikely)
-limit of 3300$ per week from ATM
-they are taking 3$ commission per 1000$ if you withdraw from Bank teller(lets see when they open if they will adjust the commission and limits)
-no transfer available between internal usd and lbp account
-you cannot withdraw LBP from ATM if your account is only in USD
-USD credit card not working outside lebanon (my colleague experience)
MAS wrotemy experience in BOB:

My account is in USD:
- i can withdraw up to 600$ per day from ATM (if there's $ available, which is very unlikely)
-limit of 3300$ per week from ATM
-they are taking 3$ commission per 1000$ if you withdraw from Bank teller(lets see when they open if they will adjust the commission and limits)
-no transfer available between internal usd and lbp account
-you cannot withdraw LBP from ATM if your account is only in USD
-USD credit card not working outside lebanon (my colleague experience)

Well yeah can you imagine ? I have money in USD that I can't withdraw because the ATM doesn't provide USD and it wont give LBP instead. I cannot transfer money between accounts and I'm borrowing cash from my family.

Humiliation at its best.


And one last thing I forgot to mention, you can no longer carry as much cash as you want at the airport. They forbid it even if you declare to customs.
Kareem wrote And one last thing I forgot to mention, you can no longer carry as much cash as you want at the airport. They forbid it even if you declare to customs.
In the late 80ies, Lebanon experienced a hyperinflation. However the peg helped stabilize it, or so is the mainstream belief of the establishment.

My limited financial understanding tells me that conditions are similar nowadays.

So this time to avoid a hyperinflation they are trying to control it and to stick the peg.

This is in line with what BDL calls "financial engineering". Measures which attempt to manipulate the market, investors, even numbers and statistics.

This is an excerpt from the S&P report:
"The government has directly issued Eurobonds to BdL--including $1.75 billion in November 2017 and $5.5 billion in May 2018--and swapped local currency treasury bills on BdL's accounts for the U.S.-dollar equivalent. We view these transactions as an accounting procedure that does not generate foreign currency until the Eurobonds are issued to investors,"
I am guessing that "investors" did not show up.

I base my understanding on articles such as this one.

Obviously I confess to only understand part of it, however I do understand enough to get an idea of the general picture, and a basic understanding that the Lebanese financial system is very inbred, with bank deposits (yours, mine) financing the government debt, which itself is in a runaway state. Some kind of bubble that is backed with little real production of value. It now seems to be bursting. The negative reports from rating agencies played a role in this, however it was just a matter of time.

The government "reforms" are too little, too late, I am afraid.

If you may allow me to get carried away a little, and kind of go off-topic, I just want to say, that the popular efforts that we see now might may also be too little too late. These are not the right conditions for change anymore. Faced with such uncertainty, the prospect of losing their way of life and even possibly starving, I believe that people will generally go into survival mode and be willing to accept measures such as military regime or begging corrupt politicians for help.

On the other hand, maybe we will all finally manage to take our future into our own hands.

Time will tell.

Regarding what will happen next on the financial level: it seems to be possible now that the government will default on the debt (something that never happened before in the history of the country).

The national debt is 80% internal debt. Therefore, if this happens, Lebanese banks could take a blow (big losses) and to pass part of the losses to the customer.

Something has to give. What, how much, and how it will affect us, we don't know yet.
One idea that I have been pondering about for a while but never got the chance to try:
If you have an LBP debit card, can you buy things online, which are listed in USD?
If so, then it would be possible to exchange LBP into USD using the Visa exchange rate which is still set to the official one.
rolf wroteOne idea that I have been pondering about for a while but never got the chance to try:
If you have an LBP debit card, can you buy things online, which are listed in USD?
If so, then it would be possible to exchange LBP into USD using the Visa exchange rate which is still set to the official one.
No, it will not work. My card was used online last week but now it says balance is 0. Although the limit is set to 20K and funds are sufficient, ever since they opened last Friday, they froze everything related to cards.

Some people are even accepting cheques or credit cards because banks are closed.

As far as I understand, many people working for international companies are getting paid in USD. Banks are giving LBP instead so you can imagine how they're forcing people to deal with Lira.

Also banks decided to open on Friday or Monday.... That's exactly on the first of November when all salaries are already transferred. Coincidence ? They could have opened tomorrow but no...

I'm also pretty sure that BDL in collaboration with banks is selling the USD in blackmarket to exchange offices.
Kareem wrote I'm also pretty sure that BDL in collaboration with banks is selling the USD in blackmarket to exchange offices.
God knows what they are doing behind closed doors.
There needs to be more transparency in this country, it helps against corruption and also helps in restoring confidence.

Thanks for your answer to my question.

I had an amount in an LBP saving account that I was planning to transfer to dollars through the method mentioned. This was back when USD was starting to become scarce but before the banks closed. Too late now.

I don't care - it will serve me as a lesson. However I know that it is a very harsh "lesson" for those who earned and saved Lebanese Pounds over a long period, and I am sorry for their plight.
One thing that bothers me with the whole situation is that through all the bullshit the banks are doing, nobody is pointing the finger at them.

They are controlling our livelihoods and nobody bat's an eye!

They enable corruption, they hold the country's debt, they are dictating their terms and everyone just takes it.

I keep daydreaming about one day having a "real" revolution where EVERYONE picks up a stick, a shovel, a broom, anything, and we go down and physically overthrow them all.

Bring another guillotine revolution.

But sadly, we live in a reality where we grovel towards the banks.
JudicatorKhoury wroteOne thing that bothers me with the whole situation is that through all the bullshit the banks are doing, nobody is pointing the finger at them.
Thank you for saying that and as I am one of the many folks waiting/suffering for ISKAN to start working again, I remember clearly the day the BDL governor said a year ago they will start providing loans but the private banks refused the terms. The people should frown more upon them as they:
1- Gave/stole the money left & right when BDL did provide a very low-interest fund
2- Refused the BDL ISKAN restoration plan because it gave them less room to be corrupted.

My only hope is that if they started "استرداد الأموال المنهوبة" law, we should all work together to include them in the dirty files to be convicted and punished in the name of the people.
Kareem wrote And one last thing I forgot to mention, you can no longer carry as much cash as you want at the airport. They forbid it even if you declare to customs.
To my understanding its max 10k USD, or this was changed also?
Guitaret wrote My only hope is that if they started "استرداد الأموال المنهوبة" law, we should all work together to include them in the dirty files to be convicted and punished in the name of the people.
Its nearly impossible to get back stolen money that were transferred to other countries (like Switzerland)
You need a lot of lawyers, a lot of collaboration between the countries, and a lot of proof that the money was stolen to do that.

If you have a USD account, Bank Audi is allowing 1k USD withdrawal per day (if there is money in the ATM). You can however still withdraw LBP but the rate is 1480!! Is that even legal!? they are forcing us to withdraw LBP and on a rate lower than the official rate.

Do you think this is just happening due to current situation? and when banks open everything will be back to normal?
sero wrote
If you have a USD account, Bank Audi is allowing 1k USD withdrawal per day (if there is money in the ATM). You can however still withdraw LBP but the rate is 1480!! Is that even legal!? they are forcing us to withdraw LBP and on a rate lower than the official rate.
This is an absolute robbery. I am starting to hate them more than I hate our beloved politicians and their media TVs.

My salary is domiciled at Audi and I am seriously considering asking to get paid in Cash as fees have been popping up right & left like crazy. They even increased my credit card interest and announcing it by sending this stupid SMS "Dear Customer, following recent International upgrades we have revised our credit card fees & charges". Those dirty shops that call themselves "banks" need to put to their size immediately.

Another thing guys, for those of you with saving accounts that will try to withdraw money from tomorrow when the banks open, please keep us posted as many of us need to know how much they are truly broke.
Johnaudi wrote
VincentKeyboard wrote
vlatkozelka wrote
Not really...
We import a lot of wheat, potato,etc.. from Egypt for example.
This sadly turned out to be true. The butcher where I buy chicken increased the price by 2000LL today as opposed to yesterday.
I'm assuming he's just bluffing to make some more cash. All of my local shops are still on the same prices. (Including hawa chicken)
This is atrocious. You don't mess with a man's food!
Banks and the government are together on this. Banks have been making huge money from lending to the government at very high interest rates.

It was nice and easy money, so much that they failed to diversify their investment.

However this national debt did not convert into real economic growth. Most probably it was wasted through corruption and mismanagement.
VincentKeyboard wrote This is atrocious. You don't mess with a man's food!
This is capitalism, when demand goes up, prices goes up.

The government has been taxing poor people forever, which is very bad for social stability.

Have very poor people struggling which you neglect and exploit, and very rich people which keep getting richer and keep getting favored, you will have an unstable situation... It's as if Lebanon has learned nothing from 15 years of civil war.

Sociology is the key.

If we want a technocrat government, there should be many sociologists in there.
Guitaret wrote
Another thing guys, for those of you with saving accounts that will try to withdraw money from tomorrow when the banks open, please keep us posted as many of us need to know how much they are truly broke.
I think I will go with my camera, and try to take some photos of the queues.