Looking for some advice

[senna]

Hi everyone its been a long time

Im seeking some help i have a current account in dollars in bank Audi for years now, i did try to transfer my money because of the Lebanon economic crsis for a while now but no luck so far, some friends are telling me its all gone by the looks of things, and some are saying they can transfer it but i will have to lose half of it.

I tried the embassy but they cant help in this issue, i thought of buying a real state with it but its the last resort.

Any advice will be much appreciated

 

[GrumpForTrump]

Hi everyone its been a long time

Im seeking some help i have a current account in dollars in bank Audi for years now, i did try to transfer my money because of the Lebanon economic crsis for a while now but no luck so far, some friends are telling me its all gone by the looks of things, and some are saying they can transfer it but i will have to lose half of it.

I tried the embassy but they cant help in this issue, i thought of buying a real state with it but its the last resort.

Any advice will be much appreciated

Any USD account that predates the crisis cannot be transferred abroad or withdrawn from.
Real estate contractors do accept checks, but at a cost (they usually double the property's price).
Your only option is to withdraw LBP at the 3,850 rate and sell them on the black market, but you'd lose half of your savings in the process.
$1=7,500 at the time of writing this post.

Your money is not lost (I hope) but it will take 4 to 5 years before you'll be able to access your savings again.

 

[The_FPMer]

some friends are telling me its all gone by the looks of things, and some are saying they can transfer it but i will have to lose half of it.

A deal with Bank Audi?

You can recuperate 30-35% of them on the black market. Banker's check in exchange for a portion of the amount in cash USD.

 

[senna]

A deal with Bank Audi?

You can recuperate 30-35% of them on the black market. Banker's check in exchange for a portion of the amount in cash USD.

thanks for the reply

Yes i have been told its some new regulation from the government.

I cant do more than 35% or there is a time period for me to withdraw the amounts?

Sorry its just too confusing i have been trying the bank but other than the 50% deal they didn't give me anything.

 

[senna]

Any USD account that predates the crisis cannot be transferred abroad or withdrawn from.
Real estate contractors do accept checks, but at a cost (they usually double the property's price).
Your only option is to withdraw LBP at the 3,850 rate and sell them on the black market, but you'd lose half of your savings in the process.
$1=7,500 at the time of writing this post.

Your money is not lost (I hope) but it will take 4 to 5 years before you'll be able to access your savings again.

I cant really risk it in real estate at this time although i did read some articles saying it is blooming now in Lebanon but i have a feeling and i hope im wrong it will crash as you said fast. I hope things work out soon i really appreciate your reply

 

[Steven Gerrard]

I cant really risk it in real estate at this time although i did read some articles saying it is blooming now in Lebanon but i have a feeling and i hope im wrong it will crash as you said fast. I hope things work out soon i really appreciate your reply

To be honest if you don't want them in your savings again, buy in real estate.

or you can do like the rest are saying withdraw them in LBP on 3,850 rate.

real estate is always a safe haven even if the market goes up or down. if you want to wait for the prices to go down sure but at least you can have an income producing asset and you can rent it out anytime while receiving 3-4% of your return on investment then in 10-15 years time when the market booms you can sell it at twice the price you bought it, which is pretty good

 

[GrumpForTrump]

thanks for the reply

Yes i have been told its some new regulation from the government.

I cant do more than 35% or there is a time period for me to withdraw the amounts?

Sorry its just too confusing i have been trying the bank but other than the 50% deal they didn't give me anything.

Are you sure you can transfer 50% of your local USD account abroad? If that were case, there would be endless queues in front of banks, as most Lebanese are looking for ways to get their money out of the bank.

You can't even withdraw or transfer $1 abroad, unless you have a fresh money account.

 

[dyyyy]

Hi everyone its been a long time

Im seeking some help i have a current account in dollars in bank Audi for years now, i did try to transfer my money because of the Lebanon economic crsis for a while now but no luck so far, some friends are telling me its all gone by the looks of things, and some are saying they can transfer it but i will have to lose half of it.

I tried the embassy but they cant help in this issue, i thought of buying a real state with it but its the last resort.

Any advice will be much appreciated

Even in real estate, your dollars will be priced as depreciated dollars (meaning the price will be much more expensive than fresh dollars)

Do you have a foreign passport? If yes ask a lawyer if you can sue.

 

[shadow1]

There is a zero chance that you will ever be able to withdraw any of your money in USD not now and not ever. The longer you leave it in the bank the higher the risk you might lose the whole lot. Themain reason isthat the money is gone and another reason is that whatever USD the banks still have and they do have a lot they'd rather sell it in the black market at say 7500LL (likely to go up into the six digits) and force you out of panic to wihtdraw your usd in LL at 4000LL to the dollar while the bank this way can extinguish twice as much USD liability and records a profit ironically. It's all a scheme devised by the central bank as the only way to save the technically and legally insolvent banks from collapsing. Eventually what will happen is that the banks will be forced to write off govt debt to no loss of their own. So effectively prepare yourself for a 60% haircut.

As far as real estate goes, yes owners would only accept bank cheques but in return they will inflate the prices of their properties. Naturally lebs live in La la land and deceipt knows no boundaries. You can take a risk and hold out a bit as the country is in a state of financial melt down and real estate prices will succumb no doubt.

what will you do? Right now in the south there are flats on offer for as low as a 100M LL if you are willing to pay in cash. Depending on how much you have in the bank your best bet is to cash it in LL and buy yourselves few flats and keep them unrented as if you lock yourself in into rent in LL bear in mind the dollar value of that rent will be much much much less than you might think today. A collusion between the central bank, the banks and politicians will ensure that at least sixty percent of your wealth will be transferred to them.

Your second option and the best to put your mind at ease, withdraw your money in LL and buy usd in the black market. Bite the bullet and promise yourself to never ever deposit a cent in Leb banks. They have always been too corrupt but now they are acting criminally because they are protected by politicians.

 

[Dark Angel]

Hi everyone its been a long time

Im seeking some help i have a current account in dollars in bank Audi for years now, i did try to transfer my money because of the Lebanon economic crsis for a while now but no luck so far, some friends are telling me its all gone by the looks of things, and some are saying they can transfer it but i will have to lose half of it.

I tried the embassy but they cant help in this issue, i thought of buying a real state with it but its the last resort.

Any advice will be much appreciated

there is a chance that what we have witnessed is some acrobatic to raise the fixed USD price from 1500LL to the range of 4000LL; which eases the government overall debts and reduces them in terms of USD figures given that more than 50% of the treasury bonds are in LL, just as it eases the government's ability to meet the payrolls.

if that was the case, and that is the undeclared intent, then it may not be all that long before you can get access to at a portion of your accounts sooner than expected.

this is not to say that the crisis will be behind us, but rather that it may not be as cataclysmic and hopeless as people want to believe it is.

 

[GrumpForTrump]

There is a zero chance that you will ever be able to withdraw any of your money in USD not now and not ever. The longer you leave it in the bank the higher the risk you might lose the whole lot. Themain reason isthat the money is gone and another reason is that whatever USD the banks still have and they do have a lot they'd rather sell it in the black market at say 7500LL (likely to go up into the six digits) and force you out of panic to wihtdraw your usd in LL at 4000LL to the dollar while the bank this way can extinguish twice as much USD liability and records a profit ironically. It's all a scheme devised by the central bank as the only way to save the technically and legally insolvent banks from collapsing. Eventually what will happen is that the banks will be forced to write off govt debt to no loss of their own. So effectively prepare yourself for a 60% haircut.

As far as real estate goes, yes owners would only accept bank cheques but in return they will inflate the prices of their properties. Naturally lebs live in La la land and deceipt knows no boundaries. You can take a risk and hold out a bit as the country is in a state of financial melt down and real estate prices will succumb no doubt.

what will you do? Right now in the south there are flats on offer for as low as a 100M LL if you are willing to pay in cash. Depending on how much you have in the bank your best bet is to cash it in LL and buy yourselves few flats and keep them unrented as if you lock yourself in into rent in LL bear in mind the dollar value of that rent will be much much much less than you might think today. A collusion between the central bank, the banks and politicians will ensure that at least sixty percent of your wealth will be transferred to them.

Your second option and the best to put your mind at ease, withdraw your money in LL and buy usd in the black market. Bite the bullet and promise yourself to never ever deposit a cent in Leb banks. They have always been too corrupt but now they are acting criminally because they are protected by politicians.

If I'm not mistaken, there's a also a limit on how much LBP you can withdraw per month. It would take you years to get all your deposits out of the bank.

 

[Steven Gerrard]

Are you sure you can transfer 50% of your local USD account abroad? If that were case, there would be endless queues in front of banks, as most Lebanese are looking for ways to get their money out of the bank.

You can't even withdraw or transfer $1 abroad, unless you have a fresh money account.

Eh you can't.

Not all banks also accept withdrawing fresh money USD either. FNB for example only allows 85% of your USD fresh money to be withdrawn and the rest kept in your account. Fransabank depends on the amount. As far as I know Bank Audi and BLOM are the only ones who are flexible.

Banks in Lebanon are a cartel, you trust them with your money and they take it away from you.

 

[shadow1]

If I'm not mistaken, there's a also a limit on how much LBP you can withdraw per month. It would take you years to get all your deposits out of the bank.

yes 5M a week on your LL accounts but if you have it in usd I am not sure. I am actually going against my own advice and keeping my USD account for the simple reason that the banks are too corrupt and the politicians are too corrupt and salameh hands are tied. Even though banks are insolvent I am thinking of buying their own shares because they will steal 60% of the depositors money and eventually recover.

 

[shadow1]

there is a chance that what we have witnessed is some acrobatic to raise the fixed USD price from 1500LL to the range of 4000LL; which eases the government overall debts and reduces them in terms of USD figures given that more than 50% of the treasury bonds are in LL, just as it eases the government's ability to meet the payrolls.

if that was the case, and that is the undeclared intent, then it may not be all that long before you can get access to at a portion of your accounts sooner than expected.

this is not to say that the crisis will be behind us, but rather that it may not be as cataclysmic and hopeless as people want to believe it is.

what you say is correct. However govt revenues are in LL and their loans in USD will be so much dearer and require an enormous amount of extra Liras to cover.

 

[GrumpForTrump]

Eh you can't.

Not all banks also accept withdrawing fresh money USD either. FNB for example only allows 85% of your USD fresh money to be withdrawn and the rest kept in your account. Fransabank depends on the amount. As far as I know Bank Audi and BLOM are the only ones who are flexible.

Banks in Lebanon are a cartel, you trust them with your money and they take it away from you.

Audi Bank allows you to withdraw $1,000 daily from your fresh account (through the ATM.)
I don't know what the limit is at the counter. I don't bother go to banks anymore. They're breeding grounds for corona.

 

[Dark Angel]

what you say is correct. However govt revenues are in LL and their loans in USD will be so much dearer and require an enormous amount of extra Liras to cover.

it is a short term solution that will come back to byte them in a couple of years, this way however the USD will be closer to its estimated value vs the LL, and this makes for a healthier reality. additionally, i expect that the LL currency the banks have gathered through high interest rates (up to 18%), went towards buying foreign currencies at a base rate corresponding to the 1515 LL/USD equivalency, and these were then transferred abroad prior to the lollar phenomenon, meaning that their value is rather real, for the most part that is.

in that scenario, it would mainly be the proprietaries of deposit accounts in LL - even foreign currency with contracts that read in fine prints that BDL is eligible to substitute with treasury (long term) bonds in LL at the rate they see fit - who would be taking the biggest hit, and will have their assets reduced by at least two third, without the need for haircuts.

 

[senna]

To be honest if you don't want them in your savings again, buy in real estate.

or you can do like the rest are saying withdraw them in LBP on 3,850 rate.

real estate is always a safe haven even if the market goes up or down. if you want to wait for the prices to go down sure but at least you can have an income producing asset and you can rent it out anytime while receiving 3-4% of your return on investment then in 10-15 years time when the market booms you can sell it at twice the price you bought it, which is pretty good

True i might have to do that if i cant find any other option, only issue is i cant travel anytime soon at least not before September when the Airports open again in KSA.

I had hoped there might a work around on this issue but it seems i was wrong unfortunately

 

[senna]

Even in real estate, your dollars will be priced as depreciated dollars (meaning the price will be much more expensive than fresh dollars)

Do you have a foreign passport? If yes ask a lawyer if you can sue.

Yes i tried calling the lawyer at the saudi embassy no luck they cant help me, A lot of Saudi nationals are having the same problem.

 

[senna]

There is a zero chance that you will ever be able to withdraw any of your money in USD not now and not ever. The longer you leave it in the bank the higher the risk you might lose the whole lot. Themain reason isthat the money is gone and another reason is that whatever USD the banks still have and they do have a lot they'd rather sell it in the black market at say 7500LL (likely to go up into the six digits) and force you out of panic to wihtdraw your usd in LL at 4000LL to the dollar while the bank this way can extinguish twice as much USD liability and records a profit ironically. It's all a scheme devised by the central bank as the only way to save the technically and legally insolvent banks from collapsing. Eventually what will happen is that the banks will be forced to write off govt debt to no loss of their own. So effectively prepare yourself for a 60% haircut.

As far as real estate goes, yes owners would only accept bank cheques but in return they will inflate the prices of their properties. Naturally lebs live in La la land and deceipt knows no boundaries. You can take a risk and hold out a bit as the country is in a state of financial melt down and real estate prices will succumb no doubt.

what will you do? Right now in the south there are flats on offer for as low as a 100M LL if you are willing to pay in cash. Depending on how much you have in the bank your best bet is to cash it in LL and buy yourselves few flats and keep them unrented as if you lock yourself in into rent in LL bear in mind the dollar value of that rent will be much much much less than you might think today. A collusion between the central bank, the banks and politicians will ensure that at least sixty percent of your wealth will be transferred to them.

Your second option and the best to put your mind at ease, withdraw your money in LL and buy usd in the black market. Bite the bullet and promise yourself to never ever deposit a cent in Leb banks. They have always been too corrupt but now they are acting criminally because they are protected by politicians.

I just hope things wont get worse before September so i can travel to Lebanon and see what i can do either buy a real estate or try the black market as some of you suggested.

 

[O Brother]

It will take decades before Lebanese can trust these so called banks..
People would rather having their savings in the mattress after all this shit!

Seriously even if the lira recovers somehow from all this ppl would be using the banks only when necessary like paying bills etc..


Sorry to hijack your thread but you should know what happened to your money..
ppl shouldn't just accept being robbed!