Background slide

Lebanon’s economy is in crisis. The country’s GDP is in free fall, most banks in the country are dollar insolvent, and the nation's currency (the Lebanese pound) has lost more than 60% of its value on secondary exchange markets. On March 7, 2020, Lebanon announced it would default on and restructure its nearly $31 billion in dollar-denominated debt, the first such default in Lebanon’s history. Since October 2019, Lebanese banks have implemented ad hoc capital controls, preventing most depositors from transferring any money overseas or withdrawing dollars from their bank accounts. Around 75% of Lebanese bank accounts are denominated in dollars.