M3 Recorded $65.11 Billion as of August 27, 2026; Alvarez & Marsal Begins its Audit of BDL
Sources: BDL; BLOM Bank
BDL’s latest statistics on money supply revealed that Broad Money (M3) increased by LBP 8,240.68 billion to stand at LBP 5,827,400 billion ($65.11 billion) by the week ending August 27th, 2026. As such, M3 decreased by 4.96% year-over-year (YOY) and by 3.01% year to date (YTD).
M1 expanded by LBP 3,720.32 billion during the week of 21 to 27 August 2026, due to an increase in demand deposits of LBP 3,273.91 billion and in currency in circulation of LBP 446.41 billion.
In turn, total deposits (excluding Demand deposits) rose by LBP 4,520.36 billion ($50.51 million), due to an increase in term and saving deposits by LBP 372.10 billion during the week, and a growth in deposits denominated in foreign currencies by USD 46.35 million compared to the previous week.
As such, the rate of broad money dollarization decreased slightly from 97.738% in the week ending August 20th, 2026 to 97.671% in the week ending August 27th, 2026.
Looking at interest rates, the average rate on deposits in LBP at commercial banks increased from 1.58% in June 2025 to 5.19% in June 2026. Meanwhile, the average rate on deposits in USD at commercial banks increased from 0.04% to 0.1% between June 2025 and June 2026. In turn, the average lending rate in LBP and USD at commercial banks fell in both currencies: LBP loans rates decreased to 6.15% from 9.11% a year earlier, while USD loans rates decreased to 4.1% from 4.83%.
Analytically, the money supply M3 can be derived from combining the balance sheet of BDL with the balance sheet of banks to arrive at the monetary survey of the banking system. The resulting M3 would be equal to the sum of: net foreign assets (NFA), credit to the private sector (CPS), net credit to the public sector (NCPS), and other items net (OIN). Latest data show that in June 2026, M3 stood at LBP 5,887,291.5 billion versus LBP 6,174,340.5 billion in June 2025; NFA were LBP 3,119,573.8 billion compared to LBP 2,385,943.8 billion in June 2025; CPS was LBP 506,235.3 billion compared to LBP 498,102.4 billion in June 2025; NCPS was LBP 2,856,468.2 billion compared to LBP 3,858,981.2 billion in June 2025; and OIN were negative LBP 594,985.8 billion compared to negative LBP 568,686.6 billion in June 2025.
On a similar note, Lebanon’s central bank (BDL) announced that Alvarez & Marsal, a France-based consulting firm, will conduct a new audit covering financial transactions from 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2023, a period that includes the country’s financial collapse. The audit began on 17 August 2026, focusing on BDL’s foreign assets — including essential goods subsidies, transfers to government operations, and letters of credit for fuel imports. The firm was chosen through a tendering process.
The audit aims to review BDL’s operations during the mentioned period, trace the flow of funds involved in its operations, and verify the procedures and mechanisms adopted in their execution, based on the documents, data, and records available from the relevant parties. The audit also reflects BDL’s commitment to safeguarding its financial claims related to foreign reserve disbursements, especially within support programs, with preservation based on the audit’s final findings.
