BEIRUT - Bank Byblos' Lebanon this week reports that the Association of Banks in Lebanon released the consolidated balance sheet of commercial banks showing that total assets reached $88.5bn at the end of June 2008, up 7.5% from end-December 2007 and up by 14.7% from the end of June 2007. Private sector deposits totaled $72.1bn, an increase of 7.1% from the end of last year and by 14.1% from June 2007. Deposits in Lebanese pounds rose by 20% year-on-year while deposits in foreign currencies increased by 12.2 % annually. Non-resident foreign currency deposits rose annually by 16.2 % to $9.9bn at end-June 2008 and the dollarization rate of deposits reached 74.6%. Further, the average deposit rate in Lebanese pounds reached 7.25% compared to 7.50% a year earlier, while the same rate in US dollars was 3.55% down from 4.91% in June 2007.

Loans to the private sector amounted to $23.7bn, up by 15.9% from December 2007 and by 26.7% year-on-year. The dollarization rate in private sector lending reached 87.3% compared to 86% a year earlier. The average lending rate in Lebanese pounds was 10.09% in June 2008 compared to 10.27% a year earlier, while the same average in US dollars was 7.28% compared to 8.24% in June 2007.

Claims on the public sector stood at $23bn, up to 10.7% year-on-year and up 7.1% compared to December 2007, and accounted for 49.3 % of the banking sector’s total loans. The ratio of private sector loans to deposits in foreign currencies stood at 38.4%, well below the Central Bank’s limit of 70%, and up from 33.5% a year earlier. In parallel, the same ratio in Lebanese pounds was 16.5% compared to 17.1% a year earlier. The ratio of total private sector loans to deposits stood at 32.8% up from 29.6% a year earlier. The banks’ aggregate capital base stood at $6.6bn, up 11% from $5.9bn in June 2007.