Lebanon: Central bank allows local branches to buy US dollars until end of year

Lebanon's central bank on Tuesday extended a circular allowing banks to purchase an unlimited amount of US dollars on its Sayrafa exchange platform until the end of the year, a central bank statement said.

The circular has been repeatedly extended since it first came into force nearly one year ago. 

Lebanon's GDP has shrunk by more than half during the protracted financial crisis, from around $52 billion in 2019 to $22 billion in 2021. 

Annual inflation has been above 100 percent for the past 26 months in a row. 

Most banks are bankrupt and allow depositors to withdraw only pocket money every month. 

Over the past year, a number of Lebanese civilians have resorted to using violence or hostage-taking to demand their bank hands them their hard-earn savings. 

In the latest bank heist, a 90 year-old woman was protesting at a bank audi branch on Salim Salam Avenue in Msaitbeh where she has $20,000 in savings, according to the "Depositors' Outcry Association" on Twitter.