Commercial banks' consolidated balance sheet for October 2000 rose 1.54 percent from a month before to $44.43 billion. Compared to a year before, the balance sheet showed an 11.8 percent increase in assets from $39.74 billion in October 1999. Total deposits rose 10.55 percent over the same period, mainly boosted by a $3.9 billion surge in FC deposits. The slightly higher dollarization rate of 66.73 percent, up 513 basis points year-to-year, resulted from a higher growth rate in FC deposits of 18.8 percent compared to a decline of 3 percent in LP. Loans in LP went up by 21.9 percent compared to a year before, against a 5 percent increase in FC loans. The ratio of loans to deposits as at end-October 2000 decreased by 136 basis points (b.p.) from a year before, to 39.93 percent. The ratio of FC loans to FC deposits was down 687 b.p. from October 1999, to 52.07 percent, while that of LP loans to LP deposits increased 319 b.p. over the same period to 15.58 percent. — ( Banque du Liban et d'Outre-Mer Sal )
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
