The Banque du Liban’s (BDL) budget in mid-December 2025 showed a marked change in the strength of its sovereign assets, with the total value of gold reserves rising to a historical high, coinciding with the central bank’s continued efforts to enhance its foreign currency liquidity and implement international accounting standards to increase transparency.
The value of BDL’s gold reserves recorded an unprecedented record, exceeding the $40 billion mark in mid-December 2025, compared to $38.4 billion at the end of November, and a significant increase from the levels of mid-December 2024, which amounted to $24.6 billion. In terms of external liquidity, “foreign reserve assets” (liquid hard currencies) stabilized at about $11.99 billion, recording an increase of $137.8 million in the first half of December alone.
The newspaper “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” wrote: Thus, the BDL has succeeded in increasing its liquid assets by $1.85 billion since the end of 2024, and by about $3.41 billion since the new administration took office at the end of July 2023, despite the continuing economic pressures, according to the weekly bulletin of Byblos Bank.
The bulletin explained that the central bank continued to adjust its budget classifications in accordance with international standards; the “foreign reserve assets” item was limited to liquid assets and non-residents only, while illiquid items were reclassified under the “securities portfolio” or “loans to the domestic financial sector.” The securities portfolio amounted to about 546.2 trillion Lebanese pounds ($6.1 billion), and included Lebanese “Eurobonds” at their current market value of $1.24 billion, away from their previous nominal valuation of $5 billion, a step aimed at enhancing the realism of the balance sheet of the Lebanese Central Bank.
Regarding monetary stability, the data showed a decrease in the amount of cash circulating outside the BDL to reach 71.07 trillion Lebanese pounds (about $794 million) in mid-December, compared to 71.6 trillion Lebanese pounds at the end of November, although it still recorded an increase of 27.3 percent on an annual basis. On the other hand, financial sector deposits amounted to about $83.58 billion, while public sector deposits with the central bank rose to 777.1 trillion Lebanese pounds ($8.68 billion), compared to 541 trillion Lebanese pounds in the same period last year; reflecting an improvement in the financial solvency of government accounts in Lebanese pounds.
