Lebanese central bank slashes interest rates amid crisis
Posted December 4, 2019 7:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s central bank says it’s dramatically lowering interest rates on dollar and Lebanese pound deposits and loans as part of measures to deal with a burgeoning economic crisis.
Wednesday’s decision comes as Lebanon, the world’s third most indebted country, faces an unprecedented economic and political crisis amid nearly 50 days of nationwide protests.
A notice from the Banque de Liban says it slashed interest rates on dollar deposits to 5%, down from as high as 14%.
Banks had closed for nearly two weeks at the start of protests in mid-October. There was a run on the banks after they reopened and the local currency lost nearly 40% of its value. The government then resigned on Oct. 29 and a new one has yet to be named.
The Associated Press
