in-cyprus 23 May 2022 - by Annie Charalambous
The Central Bank of Lebanon has decided to close down their remaining seven bank branches in Cyprus because they are non-viable, according to Cyprus New Agency which cites Cyprus Central Bank insiders.
Two more have already been dissolved, but no details have been given as to the exact closure date of the remaining ones.
Lebanon foresees cancelling “a large part” of the central bank’s foreign currency obligations to commercial banks and dissolving non-viable banks by November.
This is based on a financial recovery plan passed by the Cabinet last week.
Lebanon’s local currency has lost more than 90% of its value since its economic decline began in 2019, and banks have locked savers out of hard-currency deposits.
In April 2020, the Cabinet endorsed a recovery plan that was then torpedoed by powerful political parties, the Central Bank, and commercial banks, who disputed the distribution of losses.
