![Riad Salameh, governor of Lebanon's central bank, speaks to the Financial Times in his office in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 30, 2017. [Sam Tarling for the Financial Times]](http://i0.wp.com/libnanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Riad-Salamé.jpg?resize=696%2C392&ssl=1 "Riad Salamé")
The Banque du Liban announces 2 measures which would have been decided by its governor Riad Salamé in coordination with the Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil.
One of the measures will consist in the provision by the Bank of Lebanon of the necessary currencies to the Lebanese banks according to the exchange rate of the Sayrafa electronic platform.
In addition, the BdL announces news that it will strengthen the regulations allowing the repayment of commercial loans in foreign currencies in cash in Lebanese pounds at the rate specified in circular 151, i.e. 8000 Lebanese pounds, in order to reduce the money supply and thus attempting to reduce the demand for foreign currency.
This announcement comes as the Lebanese pound hit its all-time low on Tuesday, December 14, both on the black market with a parity rate that has reached the symbolic threshold of 29,000 LL / USD and on the BdL’s Sayrafa electronic platform, at 23,000 LL / USD.
The deterioration of the parity between the Lebanese pound and the dollar was expected due to several factors such as the plan to increase the minimum wage without economic productivity gains but also the increase in the parity rate of circular 151 of the Bank of Lebanon used to allow withdrawal of foreign currency funds deposited with Lebanese banks. The latter went from 3,900 LL / USD to 8,000 LL / USD, while the value of the lollar was only 15% to 20% against the real dollar, which led to a sharp deterioration in the parity of the pound against the dollar, a deterioration which could reach 40,000 LL / USD in the days or the week to come “except good news”, now suggest some economics.