In a special statement to our source today, Wednesday, the banking supervision department of the Central Bank of Libya revealed that the total usage of foreign exchange during the period from January 1 to February 28, 2023, amounted to more than $3 billion, compared to $2 billion during the same period last year 2022, an increase of approximately $402 million or 15.0%.
The Banking and Monetary Supervision Department explained that documentary credits accounted for 56.3% of the total usage of foreign currency by banks, while personal purposes accounted for 42.4% of the total. Meanwhile, transfers only accounted for 1.3% of total usage.
It stated that the number of companies, factories, public entities, and other beneficiaries to obtain foreign currency was 855, as part of the accepted bank requests to cover documentary credits and transfers, excluding personal purposes. The number of requests was 2400, and most of these requests for covering documentary credits recorded 2099 requests, or 87.5%.