October 19, 2026
Banking circles are circulating a proposal to increase the monthly amounts granted to beneficiaries of Bank of Lebanon Circulars No. 158 and No. 166, at a time when no official decision or confirmation has been issued by the Central Bank in this regard yet.
The circulating proposal stipulates raising the monthly payments for beneficiaries of Circular 158 from $1,000 to $1,200, and for beneficiaries of Circular 166 from $500 to $600. This increase will be used exclusively via bank cards and points of sale (POS), excluding the possibility of withdrawing it in cash (cash).
On an annual basis, the value of the increase for the beneficiaries of Circular 158 is about $2,400, which will raise the total amount available for each beneficiary to approximately $57,000, in addition to about $45,000 that depositors have benefited from since the start of the circular. As for the beneficiaries of Circular 166, their annual increase amounts to $1,200, bringing the total amount they received to about $17,000, compared to about $10,000 they received previously.
On the other hand, a proposal is emerging that requires these increases to be calculated from the $100,000 amount that is proposed to be paid in cash to depositors within the draft Financial Regularity and Deposit Recovery Law, which may lead to a reduction in the final dues to depositors despite benefiting from them at the present time.
The ongoing discussions also include re-reviewing the categories benefiting from both circulars, in consultation with banks, concerned parties and stakeholders, with the aim of evaluating the regulating legal framework and examining ways to develop it.
