Banks to apply
LL2,600 per dollar

Exchange rate for small

depositors to be revised weekly

Commercial banks will adopt an exchange rate of LL2,600 per dollar for withdrawals from small accounts of up to LL5 million, a source at the Central Bank told Reuters.

The decision came in implementation of a new circular issued last week.

The circular said deposits of $3,000 or less could be withdrawn in lira at market rate, allowing small depositors to wiggle out of banking controls. It also allowed for the paying out of deposits of LL5 million or less.

The rate would be revised on a weekly basis.

The Association of Banks (ABL) said that while waiting for the BDL to complete the establishment and operation of the electronic trading system for determining the daily trading rates for foreign currencies, the banks will determine the daily exchange rate for the US dollar in coordination with the Central Bank.

In a statement, the ABL said: “The association will work in the coming days to prepare the information systems and administrative procedures necessary for the proper implementation of these two circulars.”