French seizure of the Ottoman Bank in Damascus and name change into "Bank of Syria"
01.08.1919
Start of issuance of banknotes by Bank of Syria
13.03.1920
High Commissionar's ordinance [No. 129] on the creation of a distinct currency for the French possessions in the Levant; effective 01.05.1920 (by HC's ordinance [No. 195] of 26.04.1920)
01.05.1920
Start of currency exchange: - 01.05.1920: Start of issuance of subsidiary coins and nominal legal tender status of the notes of the Bank of Syria - ??.??.1920: Demonetization of the Egyptian currency.
23.01.1924
Convention between the French, Syrian and Lebanese governments on a 15-years' concession for the renamed "Bank of Syria and Greater Lebanon" on the issuance of a common currency; effective 01.04.1924
Valuation Regimes
1920-1939
Fixed rate against French Franc (1803)
Rate Arrangements
01.05.1920
Fixed
French Franc (1803) at 20 : 1
-
Time Period: 1939-
Currency: Lebanese Pound
Transition
1 : 1
Sub-units
Pound / 100 Piastres
ISO4217
LBP
Timeline
29.05.1937
Convention between the French and Lebanese governments on a 25-years' concession for the renamed "Bank of Syria and Lebanon" on the issuance of a Lebanese currency (extending the 1924 convention); ratified 02.06.1937, effective 01.04.1939
01.04.1939
Start of currency exchange: - 01.04.1939: Start of overprinting of the pre-1937 banknotes with "Lebanon" (in French and Arabic) - 31.12.1939: Demonetization of the banknotes without overprint - 02.02.1948: Demonetization of the Syrian currency.
01.08.1963
Central bank law [No. 13513] on the establishment of the Bank of Lebanon; effective 01.01.1964
Valuation Regimes
1939-1941
Fixed rate against French Franc (1803)
1941-1949
Fixed rate against British Pound during the German occupation of France: - 19.03.1941: Monetary agreement between Great Britain and the French government-in-exile - 12.11.1941: Ordinance of the Delegate of Free France in the Levant - 25.01.1944: Monetary agreement between Great Britain, the French government-in-exile, Lebanon and Syria ("Accord Catroux").
1949-1973
Fixed rate against US Dollar
1973-1998
Variable rate, highly inflationary after the mid-1980s
1998-2019
Fixed rate against US Dollar, the official rate continued to exist but became de facto inoperative
2019-
Variable market rate, highly inflationary
Rate Arrangements
01.04.1939
Fixed
French Franc (1803) at 20 : 1
±0.0%
12.11.1941
Fixed
British Pound at 1 : 8.83125
±0.0%
25.01.1944
Fixed
British Pound at 1 : 8.83 - [Gold parity (29.07.1947)] 405.53mg AU fine
±0.0%
20.09.1949
Fixed
US Dollar at 1 : 2.191
±0.0%
01.01.1965
Fixed
US Dollar at 1 : 3.08
-28.9%
14.02.1973
Fixed
US Dollar at 1 : 2.772
+11.1%
24.04.1973
Variable
initially: US Dollar at 1 : 2.772
±0.0%
01.12.1998
Fixed
US Dollar at 1 : 1'507.50 - Official rate
-
30.06.2019
Variable
initially: US Dollar at 1 : 1'515 - Market rate
±0.0%
01.02.2023
Fixed
US Dollar at 1 : 15'000 - Official rate (inoperative)