Tag: central bank

The Central Bank of Libya exclusively revealed to our source that starting next Monday, operations will resume under the personal purposes system. Outstanding reservations from 2025 (December) will be covered within a ceiling of USD 600 million. Thereafter, exchange companies will continue selling allocations for personal purposes for 2026 at USD 2,000, provided either in cash or via transfer, in addition to USD 8,000 for medical treatment and study purposes.

The Central Bank confirmed that on Monday, exchange companies and offices that have been operating their systems on a trial basis will officially begin operations.

The Central Bank added that in February, the first batch of cash dollars—estimated at USD 600 million—will arrive, with the same amount to be delivered monthly thereafter to the Central Bank of Libya’s vaults.

The Central Bank further stated that taxes on food and essential goods, medicines, animal feed, infant formula, diapers, and other items have been abolished, meaning a zero tax rate.

The statement concluded by noting that an agreement has been reached to support goods ahead of the holy month of Ramadan at reduced and subsidized prices through the Ministries of Economy in both western and eastern regions.

The Central Bank of Libya exclusively informed our source that, for the first time in more than 15 years, it has obtained approval from international authorities to import $600 million in cash monthly, thanks to efforts by the Governor, reflecting the international community’s confidence in the bank.

The bank also announced the imminent resumption of the personal-use dollar system, with an initial allocation of $2,000 provided directly by the Central Bank of Libya, available for cash withdrawal through banks and licensed exchange companies and offices.

The Central Bank confirmed that licensed exchange offices and companies are now technically ready to operate under the system, with the bank supplying them with cash dollars.

For those wishing to obtain foreign currency beyond personal-use, medical, or educational allocations, purchases will be allowed through licensed exchange offices with an annual limit of $8,000 to $10,000, either in cash or via card loading.

The Central Bank emphasized that all regulations governing exchange activity will be enforced according to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards, warning that any violations could lead to strict measures, including license revocation and immediate closure, in coordination with relevant state authorities.

Finally, the bank stated that exchange companies will be granted SWIFT transfers for small traders from accounts funded with foreign currency either from the Central Bank or through currency purchases from individuals, companies, and non-residents.

The Central Bank of Libya revealed to our source a document outlining how exchange companies operate under its supervision. The document aims to clarify the mechanism for using the platform and to regulate procedures for executing daily operations after obtaining final authorization from the Central Bank. It also explains how exchange companies operate, particularly with regard to individuals’ foreign currency entitlements for personal purposes.

The Central Bank explained that the document includes the following definitions:

1. Central Bank: The Central Bank of Libya, as the supervisory and regulatory authority overseeing the exchange companies’ platform and issuing the rules and instructions governing its operation.
2. Platform: The electronic exchange companies’ platform approved by the Central Bank of Libya, designated for executing and managing foreign currency buying and selling operations and monitoring related transactions.
3. Exchange Company: Any company licensed by the Central Bank of Libya to conduct exchange activities and approved to operate on the platform in accordance with established procedures.
4. Login Credentials: Electronic access credentials issued by the Central Bank of Libya that authorize the exchange company or its approved user to use the platform according to defined permissions.
5. Operations: All financial transactions executed through the platform, including, in particular, cash buying and selling of foreign currency, transfers, or any other methods approved by the Central Bank of Libya.
6. Instructions and Regulations: All laws, regulations, circulars, and instructions issued by the Central Bank of Libya related to regulating exchange activities and use of the platform.

The Central Bank added that the system structure consists of the following main components:

1. Foreign Currency Booking Platform (FCMS): A central platform dedicated to individuals, enabling citizens to submit requests to reserve foreign currency for personal purposes. Requests are submitted through approved exchange companies linked to the bank holding the citizen’s account. The platform is connected to exchange companies and commercial banks to execute approved requests and is supervised, regulated, and operated by the Central Bank of Libya.
2. Commercial Banks Platform (FCMS Banks): A platform dedicated to commercial banks, enabling them to review daily contracts received from exchange companies, approve or reject contracts in accordance with approved regulations, monitor execution status, and access operational reports. It serves as an executive channel for banks within the central system and is supervised, regulated, and operated by the Central Bank of Libya.

The Central Bank also defined the Exchange Houses Platform (FX House Platform) as an operational platform dedicated to exchange companies, enabling them to create and manage daily contracts linked to the approved exchange rate, execute operations resulting from approved contracts, receive and execute booking requests issued from the FCMS platform, and track the status of contracts and requests. The platform serves as an official integration channel with commercial banks and the central system and is supervised, regulated, and operated by the Central Bank of Libya.

The Central Bank clarified that exchange companies carry out multiple activities, including selling foreign currency in cash to citizens through the system and executing exchange operations related to citizens’ personal-purpose reservations requested via the platform.

Scope and Role of the System:
The current role of the system includes regulating cash buying and selling of foreign currency conducted through the Central Bank, organizing daily contracts linked to the approved exchange rate, managing and executing operations resulting from approved citizen reservations, and enabling regulatory authorities to monitor and audit executed transactions.

Operating Mechanism:
Regarding registration and platform access, each company must request the appointment of a system administrator (Admin) specific to the company, subject to the following conditions: the request must be signed by the company’s general manager, accompanied by the responsible person’s details (copy of national ID, copy of passport, phone number), and include a non-disclosure agreement prepared by the Central Bank of Libya and signed by the responsible person.

Daily Operations:

• (Time Window 1 – Exchange Companies): After the Central Bank uploads the exchange rate, the company enters a new foreign currency contract specifying the amount to be sold and the selling price, provided it does not exceed the permitted margin from the official exchange rate. Companies may enter multiple contracts, provided their total value does not exceed the Libyan dinar balance available in the company’s account at the commercial bank.
• (Time Window 2 – Commercial Banks): The commercial bank reserves the Libyan dinar value of the contracts in the company’s account and responds to the Central Bank accordingly.
• (Time Window 3 – Customers): Customers log into the Central Bank’s platform and request the amount for personal purposes, choosing the method of obtaining foreign currency.
  • Option One: Cash / Fast Transfers: All companies offering fast transfer services are displayed, sorted from the lowest to the highest price. Once the full contract value is reserved, the company is removed from the list.
  • Option Two: Bank Deposit / Card Top-Up: All companies where the customer has a matching account in the same bank as the company are displayed. Once the full contract value is reserved, the company is removed from the list.
• (Time Window 3 – Companies): Companies receive all customer requests and collect the Libyan dinar value from customers either in cash (within a Central Bank–specified percentage), by bank transfer, or by cheque (within a specified percentage), then approve the customer’s request on the Central Bank’s platform.
• (Time Window 4 – Central Bank of Libya): The Central Bank sells the approved reserved foreign currency amounts to commercial banks, forwards a list of foreign currency amounts due to each company, rejects remaining contract values not requested for reservation, and rejects reservations not responded to by companies.
• (Time Window 5 – Commercial Banks): Commercial banks deposit the foreign currency amounts into companies’ accounts and notify them accordingly.
• (Time Window 6 – Companies): Companies execute the approved reservations for customers.

The Central Bank of Libya confirmed exclusively to our source that foreign assets and reserves have risen to a level of $102 billion.

According to the Central Bank, this increase occurred during January 2026.

The Central Bank of Libya revealed exclusively to our source that the credit reservation platform was opened today, Monday, allowing customers to upload their applications. Personal purpose transactions amounting to $500 million for December 2025 will be settled next Sunday.

This will be carried out in accordance with the reservation value and exchange rate applied during last December.

Economic expert Suleiman Al-Shahoumi told our source that the issue of imposing taxes must fundamentally be based on a specific economic program and a framework included in what is called the state’s general budget, with a clear objective behind each tax. For example, taxes should be imposed to improve government revenues or to protect local production, particularly consumption and production taxes, which legally aim to protect local consumption and production in Libya.

He added that the real concern is whether the tax law was used for its intended purpose or exploited merely to generate financial resources for public spending, especially given the loss of official revenues, primarily from oil, which are part of the state budget. He noted that the Central Bank currently reports a decline in revenue and failure to transfer it to its accounts, indicating a major institutional gap in revenue remittance to the bank.

Al-Shahoumi emphasized that there must be clarity in the process of imposing taxes or fees under the law, which should align with the legislative framework and the general state budget. The Libyan state must determine whether there is a deficit and how it will be addressed, noting that there is currently a problem even with regular revenues flowing from oil exports.

He added that the parliament must justify the issuance of such laws, clarify which authority requested it, why it was proposed, and why it was enacted. Before issuing such laws, the parliament should first approve the state’s general budget, specifying revenues and expenditures, and ensure accountability for any shortcomings in revenue remittance or public spending.

Al-Shahoumi concluded that if the upcoming parliamentary session is intended for accountability and understanding the economic situation, involving the Central Bank board and national oil authorities, it should also provide clear answers to the public regarding:

• The Central Bank’s justifications for adjusting the exchange rate
• The reasons behind imposing consumption and production taxes
• The state of the general budget
• The role of oversight authorities in ensuring proper revenue flow to the Central Bank accounts

He also highlighted the need for parliament to address high-priority issues such as fuel smuggling and related corruption, referencing actions taken by the Attorney General, stressing that these matters must also be discussed and clarified during the session.

Financial analyst Khaled Al-Zantouti told our source that it is necessary to distinguish between taxes as a fiscal policy and the exchange rate as a result of monetary policy; therefore, one cannot simply say that imposing taxes is better or the opposite. That is the first point.

He continued: Secondly, determining the exchange rate depends on quantitative analytical results based on data related to certain economic variables, such as the balance of payments, interest rates, inflation rates, and so on.

Al-Zantouti added: Unfortunately—and I say this honestly—the Central Bank lacks all these tools amid this severe division and under this unprecedented level of consumer spending. So what can the Central Bank do under such circumstances? By God, even if Jerome Powell himself, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, were appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Libya under these conditions, he would flee and shout, saying: “Get your hands off my head!”

He concluded his statement by saying: It would be more appropriate for the House of Representatives to unify the two governments, approve a single, rationalized budget for spending, move away from regionalism and the logic of “my share and your share,” and choose sincere, clean national competence. Only then will we find solutions and the will to reform our economic situation and improve the exchange rate, through a scientific alignment between our monetary, fiscal, and trade policies. Do not demand the impossible from the Central Bank or others amid this fragmentation, corruption, and division.

Parliamentary sources told our source that the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya will attend the parliamentary session next Monday.

This comes following an invitation by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, to the governor, the head of the National Oil Corporation, the Libyan Government, and oversight bodies.

Economic expert Ezzedine Ashour said in a statement to our source that the Central Bank’s recent decision regarding the value of the dinar once again, along with the imposition of taxes on certain goods, are attempts to postpone the problem. He stressed that the Central Bank should not be blamed in this matter, as it cannot act alone without coordination with other policies, such as fiscal policy overseen by the government and trade policy. Without controlling and rationalizing public spending, demand for foreign currency will continue, and the Central Bank will be unable to meet it, especially under the current circumstances.

He added that foreign currency resources are affected by oil and have begun to decline, whether due to prices in global oil markets or because oil revenues are not fully transferred to the Central Bank. As a result, the Central Bank has no option but to proceed in this direction as long as there is no cooperation from other parties in controlling public spending and rationalizing the use of foreign currency. With what is described as runaway public spending, every dinar spent requires that 85% of it be in foreign currency, all of which puts pressure on the Libyan dinar. The Central Bank has no other solution but this one, even though it is convinced that it is not the optimal solution, but rather, as they say, the lesser of two evils.

He also said that many countries have gone through this experience, such as Egypt, where authorities resisted floating the Egyptian pound to the point that it moved from 18 pounds to around 50. The difference, however, is that Libya has reserves and a greater capacity to withstand pressure. Yet with public spending at this scale—exceeding 250 billion—of which about 80% must be in foreign currency, while annual revenues stand at around USD 22 billion and spending reaches USD 50 billion, it becomes very difficult to create balance in this manner.

He continued by saying that state institutions, including the Central Bank of Libya, must consult with one another and coordinate policies among themselves in order to reach a solution that preserves exchange rate stability, which in turn reflects on overall price levels, people’s incomes, and other aspects. Otherwise, this will not be the last instance of devaluing the dinar, as it may be followed by further devaluations at later times.

Economic expert Mohamed Al-Sanussi spoke exclusively to our source regarding the exchange rate adjustment, stating that the Central Bank’s decision is a repetition of failure and merely a new experiment among those it has conducted for years—experiments that specialists can tell from the outset will fail even before they begin. Despite later proving unsuccessful, they are neither changed nor are those responsible held accountable; instead, they are repeated in the hope of different results.

He added that the economic problem in Libya is primarily a fiscal one, not a monetary one. It is a fiscal problem characterized by uncontrolled spending and oil revenues that are siphoned off and not fully transferred to the Central Bank. Accordingly, the fundamental solution is to ensure that spending is conducted under a budget approved by Parliament—this same Parliament that managed to impose a tax on Libyans should, by extension, be able to impose a unified budget for the two governments.

He further stated that the Central Bank must compel Parliament to approve a unified budget in which expenditures are lower than revenues. Just as it was able to force many public entities to operate under the “Your Salary Instantly” system, it is capable of compelling Parliament to approve a unified budget and to transfer all oil revenues to the Central Bank. This can be achieved by adjusting the exchange rate to a level the Bank can defend—even if that rate is ten dinars. As for the current adjustment and the imposition of taxes, this will worsen the situation, as the gap between the official rate and the black-market rate will persist and widen, corruption in letters of credit will continue, and the Central Bank will be unable to meet demand for dollars. What the Central Bank has done now is akin to taking half a treatment—and half a treatment will not cure the dire condition the Libyan economy has reached.

According to Al-Sanussi, the Central Bank must stop remaining silent and neutral and instead take a firm stance to protect reserves and adjust the exchange rate to higher levels it can defend until the fiscal situation improves. Only when a unified budget lower than revenues is approved and revenues are fully transferred to the Central Bank will it then be able to reduce the exchange rate.

He continued by saying that the Central Bank now bears full responsibility due to its neutrality, its accommodation of governments, and its failure to confront runaway fiscal conditions. However, if it clearly explains the situation to the Libyan people and adjusts the exchange rate to higher levels, public pressure would shift from the Central Bank to Parliament and the governments, forcing them to reduce spending.

He concluded by stating that the existence of two exchange rates is evidence of the Central Bank’s failure, whereas having a single exchange rate—and its decline—is a result of fiscal conditions, corruption, and smuggling. Therefore, eliminating the gap between the official rate and the black-market rate would mean the Central Bank has fulfilled its role.

But if the official rate rises from 6 to 8 and then to 10, and that rate at banks equals the parallel-market rate, this means the governments have failed, not the Central Bank. What we are experiencing today is the failure of both the governments and the Central Bank together.

The statement issued by the Central Bank of Libya disclosed revenues and expenditures for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2025. Revenues amounted to LYD 136.9 billion, while expenditures totaled LYD 136.8 billion. The statement explained that the deficit reached USD 9 billion, which was covered by returns from the Central Bank’s investments, resulting in a surplus of USD 1.7 billion. Foreign currency sales recorded USD 31.1 billion, while revenues remitted by the National Oil Corporation reached USD 22.1 billion. Reserves stood at USD 99.4 billion, and the fee imposed on the sale of foreign currency amounted to LYD 23.2 billion.

The statement also detailed the total expenditures of the four councils. Spending by the Council of Ministers of the Government of National Unity amounted to LYD 354.1 million, with its affiliated entities spending LYD 7.6 billion. The House of Representatives spent LYD 104.7 million, with its affiliated entities spending LYD 1.3 billion. The High Council of State and its affiliated entities spent LYD 78.3 million, while the Presidential Council spent LYD 753.8 million.

The Central Bank statement further revealed that spending by sovereign ministries in 2025 amounted to approximately LYD 45 billion across the ministries of finance, defense, interior, and justice. Expenditures of the Ministry of Finance reached LYD 29.9 billion, the Ministry of Defense LYD 4.8 billion, the Ministry of Interior LYD 7.9 billion, and the Ministry of Justice LYD 2.4 billion during 2025.

The statement continued: the Ministry of Oil and Gas spent LYD 21.1 billion in 2025, while expenditures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reached LYD 3.8 billion, according to the Central Bank statement covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2025.

The Central Bank statement also indicated that spending on development amounted to LYD 20 billion, allocations for development projects reached LYD 4.3 billion, personal purposes executed during 2025 amounted to USD 7.8 billion, and letters of credit totaled USD 15.6 billion.

Economists believe that the decision to regulate the production and consumption tax represents a pivotal reform step to address distortions in the currency market and the system of letters of credit, and to link cash support to the real economy and citizens’ actual needs—particularly in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.

The experts explained that the most notable feature of the decision is linking the financing of food and medicine letters of credit to the electronic payment system. This makes citizens’ balances the basis for currency circulation and obliges companies to actually sell goods within the local market in order to be able to request new letters of credit. This effectively ends practices of speculation and hoarding foreign currency outside the economic cycle. They noted that this measure is expected to lead to a noticeable decline in the prices of essential goods and to curb the practice of pricing goods according to the parallel exchange rate despite being financed at a subsidized rate, which directly improves the purchasing power of the dinar without resorting to any administrative adjustment of the exchange rate.

The experts also pointed out that the decision includes a clear punitive mechanism against companies that retained letters of credit abroad without actual imports, by imposing taxes on those letters of credit and canceling those not executed. This enables the state to collect tax revenues on unexecuted 2025 letters of credit instead of continuing the drain on foreign currency.

They added that preliminary estimates indicate that non-compliant companies will incur losses of no less than one billion dollars as a result of ending these practices, in return for achieving direct gains for the public treasury and society—whether through tax revenues, lower prices, or improved availability of goods.

The experts emphasized that the strength of the decision lies in providing foreign currency in a natural and fair manner to all members of society through real consumption, without imposing direct restrictions on citizens or creating alternative informal channels.

They further stressed that the decision maintained preferential treatment for food and medicine letters of credit by reducing the tax burden, while ensuring that support reaches its rightful beneficiaries by linking it to actual sales to citizens.

The experts concluded by affirming that the decision is not a conventional tax measure, but rather an integrated monetary and commercial reform aimed at restoring market balance, protecting the national currency, and transferring support directly from companies to citizens.

Our source exclusively obtained a letter from the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Naji Issa, in which he calls on the Minister of Finance in the Government of National Unity, Khaled Al-Mabrouk, to instruct the Customs and Tax Authorities to verify the extent to which importing companies comply with disclosing imported goods and settling due fees and taxes.

The Central Bank explained that this step comes within the framework of joint efforts to regulate and organize the opening of letters of credit, protect price stability, and ensure the prudent use of foreign currency resources, in a manner that serves the public interest and strengthens the resilience of the national economy.