While the first Lebanese banks have started the application of circular 161 of the Banque du Liban allowing the conversion of salaries into dollars up to the rate of the Sayrafa electronic platform, many employees then exchange these Lebanese pounds into dollars. the black market, which could further aggravate monetary tensions due to the increase in the money supply induced by this measure, observers note, a money supply already strongly impacted by the previous decision of the central bank to raise the rate of withdrawal parity for foreign currency accounts from 3,900 LL / USD to 8,000 LL / USD.
For the time being, only certain categories of employees benefit from this measure at the sole discretion of banking establishments and without a watchword either from the Banque du Liban or the Association des Banques du Liban.
This measure, if it improves the situation somewhat temporarily with an appreciation of around 23% of wages compared to the previous situation, could in the medium term harm the parity of the Lebanese pound against the dollar. In addition, it also induces a further decline in monetary reserves of the Bank of Lebanon, the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salamé, having revealed at the beginning of the week that they reached only 12.5 billion dollars.
