Lebanese Central Bank’s Balance Sheet Rose By 6% Since Jan.1

The Central Bank of Lebanon’s bi-weekly balance sheet reached US$74.51 billion by mid of June 2012, up by 6% from the beginning of the year.

Gold reserves rose by a monthly 4.17% to US$14.98 billion as gold prices increased to reach US$1,627.10 per ounce by mid of June.

A swap took place between the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank in which the latter swapped US$2 billion worth of local-currency treasury bills in exchange for dollar-denominated bonds resulting in a climb of 6% month-on-month in the Central Bank’s foreign assets (excluding gold) to reach US$34.99 billion, recording a 17.55% increase compared to the same period in 2011.

The swap also resulted in a 14% month-on-month decrease in the Bank’s securities portfolio, which fell to US$11.1 billion. Furthermore, loans to the public sector fell by 45.48% to US$64.58 million year-on-year while loans to the financial sector jumped by 30.81% to US$1.52 billion, according to the Daily star.