Lebanon's central bank will allow banks to conduct currency transactions similar to exchange dealers and will step in to rein in the pound/dollar rate, the presidency said on Friday.
"As of next week, banks will be allowed to deal with currencies like legitimate exchange dealers...via the (central bank's electronic) platform," a spokesman for President Michel Aoun said after his adviser met Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.
Over the past weeks, the Lebanese pound has continued to plunge to new lows to the dollar on the black market, and has lost almost 90 percent of its value a year and a half ago.
Handfuls of angry protesters have blocked roads with burning tires, some shops and factories have closed, and videos have started to circulate of people fighting over cheaper subsidized food in supermarkets.
Pharmacies across the country closed their doors on Thursday in protest at the difficulty of replenishing stocks amid a hard currency crunch that is affecting imports.
The economic crisis has also been compounded by lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
