LEBANON (Enmaeya News) - December 15, 2025

Lebanon is facing an estimated financial gap of $81 billion linked to deposits placed by commercial banks at the Banque du Liban (BDL).

The central bank itself is owed money by the state that has already been spent, according to financial assessments shared with policymakers.

BDL’s total reserves, including foreign currency liquidity, gold holdings, and other assets, are estimated at around $50 billion.

To reduce the difference between its assets and liabilities, the central bank is reportedly considering writing off up to $34 billion in deposits it views as illegitimate or artificially created.

A write-off is a measure in which funds deemed unrecoverable are formally removed from financial records. In banking terms, it means recognizing losses that are unlikely to be repaid and adjusting balance sheets accordingly.

These deposits reportedly include funds tied to check trading, unusually high interest payments made before the financial collapse, and conversions of Lebanese lira to U.S. dollars made after the crisis began.

If approved, the write-offs could help narrow the financial gap and better match BDL’s balance sheet with its available reserves and gold holdings.

In parallel, authorities estimate that between $12 billion and $14 billion in deposits were lost through subsidy programs introduced during the early stages of the crisis. Officials are exploring ways to recover part of these funds, including imposing a tax on profits made by subsidy beneficiaries.

The unresolved gap highlights the scale of Lebanon’s financial crisis and the continued challenges facing efforts to restructure the banking sector and restore confidence.