The Lebanese Central Bank postpones the launch of the foreign exchange platform due to the Hezbollah-Israel confrontations.

by times news cr

2024-01-10T17:01:21+00:00

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/ A source at the Central Bank of Lebanon revealed, today, Wednesday, that the launch of a foreign currency platform has been postponed due to the continued bombing across the southern border of Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel for months, and the repercussions of that on foreign participants in the platform.

The Central Bank of Lebanon said last September that it was seeking to launch a foreign exchange platform managed by Bloomberg after gradually canceling its “banking” platform, which had been criticized for a lack of transparency and governance.

The source, who requested to remain anonymous, told Reuters, “What delayed us were the problems in the south and the inability of (foreigners participating in the platform launch process) to come to Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with the Israeli army across the border for more than three months in support of the Hamas movement, which is allied with the Lebanese group, after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7.

Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced in both Israel and Lebanon since then. About 24 Lebanese civilians and more than 130 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon, while at least nine Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Israel.

Lebanon has been groaning under the weight of an economic crisis since 2019. The local Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value, and banks have prevented some depositors from withdrawing their savings.

The Lebanese Central Bank said on Tuesday that commercial banks that have not yet done so can go in and install Bloomberg’s automated system for interbank foreign exchange trading so that they can trade on the currency platform once it is launched.

The bank did not say when the platform would be launched, but said that it would only allow approved liquidity providers to trade on it.

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