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BDL Circular 158 in 2026: who can withdraw how much

What it is
Withdrawing part of your blocked foreign-currency deposits at a bank in Lebanon each month (accounts opened before 31.10.2019), through a “Special Sub-Account” opened at the request of the account holder or their representative.
What it costs
Free: the circular bans any commission on the sub-account and withdrawals. $1,000 a month ($800 in cash, by transfer or card, $200 by payment card), $54,200 in total (amounts recorded on 23.10.2026).
How long
Monthly payments from the month the sub-account is opened, $12,000 a year at most; scheme extended to 30.06.2027 (Intermediate Circular 768).
Can be done remotely : Partly A representative holding a power of attorney can ask for the sub-account to be opened; the monthly $800 can be transferred abroad or paid onto a card usable abroad. Each bank's requirements (form of power of attorney, signing the forms) are not published.

The steps

  1. Check that you are eligible

    Foreign-currency account opened before 31.10.2019, balance at 30.06.2021 still available, no current benefit under Circular 166.

    before anything else

  2. Grant a power of attorney if you will not travel to Lebanon

    At a Lebanese consulate, in the form your bank asks for.

    depends on the consulate

  3. Ask the bank to open the Special Sub-Account

    Name the account or accounts to be used and the amount: up to $54,200, or $10,000 for one year. The bank is required to open the sub-account.

    no deadline set by the text

  4. Sign the banking secrecy waiver limited to the sub-account

    Form BDL-BDR-01-PP, in favour of the Banque du Liban and the Banking Control Commission.

    on the day you apply

  5. Choose how the monthly $800 is paid

    Cash, transfer abroad, card usable abroad or “fresh” account; the remaining $200 goes onto a payment card.

    at opening

  6. Withdraw each month or let it build up

    Amounts not withdrawn remain yours; do not exceed $12,000 per cycle (1 July - 30 June).

    every month

What it really costs

Opening and keeping the Special Sub-Accountfree
Monthly payments (cash, transfer, card)no commission
Power of attorney at the consulate, if you do not travel to Lebanonconsulate fee
Observed totalFree (excluding any power of attorney)

Amounts recorded on 23.10.2026.

What most often gets stuck

  • Account opened after 31.10.2019 or “fresh” money: outside Circular 158 (see Circular 166 for deposits made before 30.06.2023).
  • Current benefit under Circular 166: combining the two is banned on all accounts.
  • Withdrawals, transfers abroad and card spending abroad since 31.10.2019: they reduce the reference amount.
  • Account moved to another bank after 31.10.2019: the funds must return to the original bank, with a statement from the bank that received them.
  • Power of attorney refused or judged insufficient by the bank: ask for the required form before drawing it up.
  • Annual ceiling of $12,000 exceeded: rights suspended until the end of the cycle, and beyond.
  • Sub-account already exhausted: the text does not clearly say whether a new $54,200 can be paid in.

BDL Circular 158 lets you withdraw $1,000 a month from your blocked dollar deposits in 2026: $800 in cash, by transfer abroad or on a card, and $200 by payment card only. The total paid cannot exceed $54,200 across all banks, and the scheme has been extended to 30 June 2027 (Intermediate Circular 768 of 4 June 2026, in force since 1 July 2026). It is open to residents and non-residents alike, and a representative holding a power of attorney can apply on your behalf.

This guide reads the consolidated English version published by the Banque du Liban (latest amendment: Intermediate Circular 775 of 14 September 2026) and the intermediate circulars in Arabic. Only the Banque du Liban’s text is authoritative; your bank applies the details.

The figures in force on 23 October 2026

  • $1,000 a month, free of any commission: $800 in cash, and/or by outgoing transfer abroad, and/or on a bank card usable in Lebanon and abroad, and/or into a “fresh” account; $200 on a bank card usable only for payments in shops (point-of-sale terminals). Amounts set by Intermediate Circular 746, in force since 1 December 2025, and not changed by Circular 768.
  • $12,000 a year at most, across all banks, per cycle running from 1 July to 30 June. For the cycle that ended on 30 June 2026, the ceiling had been cut to $11,000.
  • $54,200 in total paid into the “Special Sub-Account”, across all banks (Intermediate Circular 768, in force since 1 July 2026).
  • Until 30 June 2027: a one-year period of application, “modifiable or renewable”. The text remains in force until all the funds placed in the sub-account have been paid out.
  • Whatever you do not withdraw in a given month remains yours and carries over to the following months.

The $200 card portion may be changed by the Banque du Liban “according to its monetary policy”: check the current amount with your bank.

The $54,200 ceiling and depositors already paid for five years

Circular 768 sets at $54,200 the amount that may be transferred into the Special Sub-Account, depending on the funds available in your foreign-currency accounts at the bank concerned. You may also transfer only $10,000 for one year, then ask for further transfers up to the ceiling. For a joint account, the ceiling is $54,200 for the account, shared between the co-holders according to the percentage they agree on; the monthly payments are then split pro rata.

According to L’Orient Today (10 June 2026), depositors who have already benefited from Circular 158 for five years can reactivate it for a further $54,200. The consolidated text does not say so in those terms: it states that the total an account holder receives under the circular, at all banks, cannot exceed $54,200, without saying how amounts already withdrawn since 2021 are counted. If your sub-account is already exhausted, ask your bank, in writing, how much it can still transfer into it and on what basis.

Who is eligible

  • Any natural person, adult or minor, resident or non-resident, holding a foreign-currency account opened at a bank in Lebanon before 31 October 2019.
  • The reference amount is the balance of your foreign-currency accounts at each bank as at 30 June 2021. It cannot exceed the balance on 31 October 2019 and must still be available on the day you apply. Joint accounts (“and”, “and/or”) are included.
  • That balance is reduced by cash withdrawals, transfers abroad and card spending abroad made since 31 October 2019 with money that was not “fresh”.
  • Also included: time deposits, on maturity; cash collateral, once released; accounts that continue an account opened at the same bank before 31 October 2019 (a joint account turned individual, an account passed to heirs, a blocked account turned current, etc.). On death, heirs or legatees benefit within the same limits.
  • Account moved to another bank after 31 October 2019: you can benefit if the funds return to the original bank. You need a statement from the bank that received the funds, a banking secrecy waiver on that account (form BDL-BDR-02-PP) and the reopening of an account at the original bank, capped at $54,200 (Circular 768).
  • Since 1 December 2025 (Circular 746), some legal persons are also eligible: sole proprietorships and licensed associations. Circular 775 of 14 September 2026 adds religious associations and waqfs (endowments) governed by their legal framework. It applies from its publication in the Official Gazette.

What is excluded

  • “Fresh” accounts, as defined by Basic Circular 150.
  • Lebanese pounds converted into foreign currency after 31 October 2019.
  • Foreign-currency deposits blocked as collateral for a loan or facility, until they are released.
  • Customers who transferred more than $500,000 abroad between 1 July 2017 and 27 August 2020 and have not brought back the share required by Circular 154 (15%, or 30% for bank board members, major shareholders and senior management, and politically exposed persons).
  • Combining it with Circular 166: as long as you benefit from Circular 158, you cannot benefit from Circular 166 on any individual or joint account, at any bank.

Applying and being paid from abroad

You apply to your bank in Lebanon: you ask it to open a “Special Sub-Account”, and it is required to do so. The text states that the account holder or their duly authorised representative may apply. If you cannot travel to Lebanon, a power of attorney is therefore the route provided for.

  • Power of attorney: abroad, it is drawn up at a Lebanese consulate. First ask your bank which form it accepts (general or specific power of attorney, reference to Circular 158).
  • Choice of accounts and amount: if you hold several accounts at the bank, you name the one or ones that will fund the sub-account, then the amount (up to $54,200, or $10,000 for one year).
  • Banking secrecy waiver: you sign form BDL-BDR-01-PP, limited to the sub-account and solely in favour of the Banque du Liban and the Banking Control Commission. The bank’s manager is responsible for the authenticity of the signature.
  • How the $800 is paid: for a depositor living abroad, the text allows a transfer abroad and a card usable abroad. It does not say whether the $200 card works on payment terminals outside Lebanon: ask the bank.
  • Start of payments: from the month the sub-account is opened. The text sets no deadline for opening it.

The bank may not impose any obligation, condition or procedure that the circular does not provide for, nor any commission on the sub-account or the withdrawals. Once you reach the annual ceiling, your rights are suspended until the end of the cycle; if you have exceeded it, the suspension extends into the next cycle at the bank concerned.

Circular 158 or 166: which one applies

Circular 166 covers non-fresh foreign-currency deposits built up before 30 June 2023 (balance as at that date), for holders who do not benefit from Circular 158. It pays $500 a month ($400 in the same forms as Circular 158, $100 by payment card), $6,000 a year at most, up to $15,200 (Intermediate Circular 769 of 4 June 2026, in force since 1 July 2026). It has also been extended to 30 June 2027.

It also excludes, among others, accounts showing cheque trading after 31 October 2019, repayments or conversions into pounds of foreign-currency loans of $300,000 or more, and purchases of $100,000 or more on the Sayrafa platform without payment of the exceptional tax. An account opened before 31 October 2019 normally falls under Circular 158, which pays more; you cannot benefit from both at the same time.

If your bank refuses or there is a dispute

Article 10 entrusts the Banque du Liban unit in charge of the “Principles of Banking and Financial Operations with Customers” with examining account holders’ complaints about how the circular is applied. Keep a written record of your request and of the bank’s reply.

Your bank gave you a different answer, or the text has changed? Report it.

Sources

Checked on 23.10.2026.