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Part II of Crisis in Lebanon: Buildup of Interrelated Challenges

September 21, 2020
YPS
What led Lebanon into this financial crisis, the biggest challenge the nation has faced since its 1975-1990 civil war? The underlying economic problems are complex and interrelated. In this blogpost of the Lebanon series , we provide an overview of the causes, focusing on five areas: 1) the large current account deficit , 2) the unsustainable fiscal deficit , 3) the fragile financial sector, 4) the Bank of Lebanon’s “financial engineering,” and 5) slow growth, political deadlock, and the impact of the Syrian crisis. Continue reading “Part II of Crisis in Lebanon: Buildup of Interrelated Challenges”

Part I of Crisis in Lebanon: Economic “Free Fall,” IMF Negotiations, and Beirut Explosion

September 21, 2020
YPFS
In the first blogpost in a series, we introduce the ongoing crisis in Lebanon. On March 9, the country defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time in its history. At the time, it had one of the highest ratios of debt to GDP in the world. While the government was in the midst of negotiations with IMF for a support program, on August 4, the country’s capital faced a catastrophic explosion caused by neglected ammonium nitrate. Continue reading “Part I of Crisis in Lebanon: Economic “Free Fall,” IMF Negotiations, and Beirut Explosion”

Introduction to Blog Post Series: Crisis in Lebanon

September 21, 2020
YPFS
The Yale Program on Financial Stability presents a series of blog posts on the current crisis in Lebanon. On August 4, a massive explosion hit Beirut, devastating most of the capital city. It became apparent that the explosion was caused by 2,750 tones of ammonium nitrate. The explosive, which would be also used as a fertilizer, had been left at the port without appropriate safety precautions since authorities confiscated it in 2013.  The country had already been suffering from a severe economic, financial, and political crisis prior to the explosion, and the annihilation of the capital city has exacerbated the situation, at the worst time ever. In the series of three blog posts, we will unravel the crisis in Lebanon. Continue reading “Introduction to Blog Post Series: Crisis in Lebanon”

Despite Stated Exclusion, the Fed Is Buying Bank Debt

September 21, 2020
YPFS
The Federal Reserve has said it won’t directly buy bonds issued by banks as part of its COVID financial rescue facilities. But a close review of its holdings reveals that by buying exchange traded funds, it has indirectly bought $2 billion of bank bonds—over 15% of its total corporate bond holdings. Continue reading “Despite Stated Exclusion, the Fed Is Buying Bank Debt”

Part II of Crisis in Lebanon: Buildup of Interrelated Challenges

September 21, 2020
YPS
What led Lebanon into this financial crisis, the biggest challenge the nation has faced since its 1975-1990 civil war? The underlying economic problems are complex and interrelated. In this blogpost of the Lebanon series , we provide an overview of the causes, focusing on five areas: 1) the large current account deficit , 2) the unsustainable fiscal deficit , 3) the fragile financial sector, 4) the Bank of Lebanon’s “financial engineering,” and 5) slow growth, political deadlock, and the impact of the Syrian crisis. Continue reading “Part II of Crisis in Lebanon: Buildup of Interrelated Challenges”

Part I of Crisis in Lebanon: Economic “Free Fall,” IMF Negotiations, and Beirut Explosion

September 21, 2020
YPFS
In the first blogpost in a series, we introduce the ongoing crisis in Lebanon. On March 9, the country defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time in its history. At the time, it had one of the highest ratios of debt to GDP in the world. While the government was in the midst of negotiations with IMF for a support program, on August 4, the country’s capital faced a catastrophic explosion caused by neglected ammonium nitrate. Continue reading “Part I of Crisis in Lebanon: Economic “Free Fall,” IMF Negotiations, and Beirut Explosion”

Introduction to Blog Post Series: Crisis in Lebanon

September 21, 2020
YPFS
The Yale Program on Financial Stability presents a series of blog posts on the current crisis in Lebanon. On August 4, a massive explosion hit Beirut, devastating most of the capital city. It became apparent that the explosion was caused by 2,750 tones of ammonium nitrate. The explosive, which would be also used as a fertilizer, had been left at the port without appropriate safety precautions since authorities confiscated it in 2013.  The country had already been suffering from a severe economic, financial, and political crisis prior to the explosion, and the annihilation of the capital city has exacerbated the situation, at the worst time ever. In the series of three blog posts, we will unravel the crisis in Lebanon. Continue reading “Introduction to Blog Post Series: Crisis in Lebanon”

Despite Stated Exclusion, the Fed Is Buying Bank Debt

September 21, 2020
YPFS
The Federal Reserve has said it won’t directly buy bonds issued by banks as part of its COVID financial rescue facilities. But a close review of its holdings reveals that by buying exchange traded funds, it has indirectly bought $2 billion of bank bonds—over 15% of its total corporate bond holdings. Continue reading “Despite Stated Exclusion, the Fed Is Buying Bank Debt”