Falling fate of the Lebanese pound | The West Asia Post

next is a story from the country I'm currently in a country that is reeling from an economic and political crisis the currency is tanking people have lost faith in the banking system I'm talking about Lebanon where the economy is increasingly driven by cash we tell you more about this in the coming report [Music] a resident of Beirut who now runs a family-owned shop rato now manages a small business that once started as a hobby but soon developed into his passion I started collecting banknotes and coins as a hobby I used to visit my father and you know Hobbies come with a love of curiosity and Discovery and so it became a passion of mine I loved it I researched it and I got attached to it so many souvenirs he keeps are lebanon's old banknotes and coins is passionate about all currencies but Lira holds a special place in his heart this is our Libra that used to have Glory the Lira that has bowed back ruin's picture on it this had its Glory is a collection for memory we put it in envelopes to sell it as a souvenir from Lebanon [Music] apart from the old coins ragdo has started collecting the latest ones as well they are still in circulation but have unfortunately lost their value he does not offer those who sail but rather add them to update his white collection of old currencies [Music] this is the 500 Lebanese Lira which has no value anymore and this is the 250 Lebanese Libra it also has no value anymore we are collecting them for memories for collections it is like the times of the old perforated Lebanese coins Lebanon is facing an unprecedented economic crisis the World Bank has dubbed it as one of the deepest depressions of modern history in the last four years the local currency lost more than 98 of its value against the US dollar it was an effect of Decades of profligate spending an alleged corruption brought an economic meltdown foreign go back to what it used to be I don't know but I believe for me and maybe for other people its value is more of moral value than a financial value and people should cling to it more a value is Blanche has driven price hikes in the country the cost of fuel food and even groceries have shot up supermarkets have started pricing their products in dollars and many private employers pay salaries in cash the Lebanese have lost their trust in the currency the World Bank says that nearly half of the country's economy has turned cash based as people lose their faith in the banking system this has slashed hopes of economic recovery for the West Asian country the World Bank estimated lebanon's cash economy to be at around 9.9 billion dollars which is about 45.7 percent of its GDP last year banks on the other hand have imposed recording restrictions on account holders there is a limit on withdrawing cash which has essentially locked depositors out of their life savings this has prompted them to back away from a collapsing banking sector [Music] on top of fiscal chaos Lebanon has been marred by political crisis the country's leaderless for around the year now there is only a caretaker government operating as the deadlock continues between rival factions despite the grave conditions lebanon's political Elite have failed to take action they are the ones to be blamed for the hardships of thousands of people the ones who have conveniently Shrugged off responsibility thank you [Music]

Channel: WION

Views: 7,473

Keywords: the west asia post, lebanon, lebanon economic crisis, economic crisis, lebanon financial crisis, lebanon economy, lebanon economic crisis now, lebanon economic crisis 2022, lebanon crisis, economic crisis lebanon, lebanon economic crisis 2021, economic crisis in lebanon, lebanon’s economic crisis, lebanon’s economic crisis explained, lebanon crisis explained, lebanon money crisis, lebanon economic crisis explained, lebanon news, economy, lebanon latest news

Id: TT8R4PEXAXU

Length: 4min 54sec (294 seconds)

Published: Sat May 20 2023