In an exclusive statement to Libya Herald, a Central Bank of Libya source announced the resumption of operations for the personal loan system, including branch selection. Commercial bank branches have also begun accepting individual reservations and selling US dollars in cash, the source stated.
The CBL explained that the documentary credit system is operational again, and commercial banks have started receiving and approving requests for coverage related to letters of credit and remittances. Commercial banks are also selling foreign currency for approved letters of credit and remittances that meet all requirements.
The CBL confirmed that the SWIFT, instant settlement, and accounting systems are functioning normally. Furthermore, the connection with exchange companies remains uninterrupted, and foreign currency sales continue as usual.
The CBL indicated that commercial banks will continue to provide services until late this evening and throughout the week to expedite service delivery to citizens and accommodate increased demand.
The CBL also revealed its intention to issue a directive in the coming period raising the ceiling for personal allowances to US$ 4,000, in addition to allowing the sale of dollars in cash for medical treatment and education purposes, subject to regulations and limits that will be announced later.
The CBL affirmed that foreign currency reserves and stocks are fully available, noting its capacity to supply up to US$ 2 billion in cash within a single week if needed.
US dollar has failed to drop under the LD 7 mark
It will be noted however, that despite all the CBL’s efforts over the last nine months, in reality, the US dollar has not fallen to under the LD 7 per dollar mark on the foreign exchange black-market.
Narrowing the gap between the official and the black-market rate to a few pennies to under the LD 7 mark is the promise made by CBL Governor Issa at the end of last summer.
Today the dollar was trading at LD 8.42 per dollar on the black-market – still a huge gap compared to the LD 6.6/dollar official CBL exchange rate.