Lebanon To Introduce Bank Notes in Denominations of 500,000, 1 Million LBP

Lebanon will soon begin printing bank notes in denominations of 500,000 and 1 million Lebanese pounds (LBP), local media reported on Tuesday. The banknotes will be worth $33 and $67 respectively according to the official exchange rate, or $5 and $11 respectively according to the black-market rate.

The state-run National News Agency reported that a bill permitting Lebanon’s central bank to print the notes passed a joint session of parliamentary committees on Tuesday. If the Lebanese parliament passes the bill, the bank will begin printing the notes.

According to a report from Lebanese news website L’Orient Today, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 98% of its value in the past four years. The current exchange rate on the black market is about 94,000 LBP to a dollar, more than 62 times the pre-crisis official rate.

The crisis is attributed to the large amount of debt that Lebanon took on since the 1990s, combined with a drop in inflow of foreign currency. The new banknotes will solve the problem of carrying large bundles of cash, but will not address the root causes of the crisis.

Currently, the largest Lebanese bank note in circulation is 100,000 LBP ($7 officially, or $1 on the black market).