Lebanese central bank orders interest-free loans after explosion

Lebanon’s central bank has told the country’s banks to make interest-free dollar loans to firms and households affected by the explosion in the capital Beirut.

The proposal seems strikingly unrealistic, given that Lebanon’s banking sector was already facing a massive crisis, including capital shortfalls estimated in billions of dollars. The Central Bank of Lebanon (CBL) has spent much of the past year imposing drastic controls on converting local currency into dollars.

A massive explosion