The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) transferred 1 billion dinars in cash to the Exchange Department of the Benghazi-branch, during the period from 1 January to 28 June 2022.
It said that it also referred one billion and 160 million dinars to commercial banks in the eastern provinces, during the same period.
Notably, the Benghazi-branch said that the CBL in Tripoli is “still behaving with a mentality of division, and disregard to the unification process.”
In a statement, the bank added: “We are surprised that Tripoli’s CBL sends official correspondence to commercial banks informing them that they can obtain cash from the issuance departments, including Benghazi. At the same time, it refrains from providing sufficient liquidity to the administration of Benghazi’s branch.”
It confirmed that “if we are not provided with an adequate budget of 500 million dinars, we will resort to alternative solutions. We hold the Central Bank in Tripoli responsible for the apparent failure to manage liquidity, which is carried out randomly.”
“We tried to direct them with official letters to develop a method for planning and organizing liquidity in a scientific and organized manner, but unfortunately there was no response. We were surprised when we were notified that cash will be sent when reservers are at 50 million dinars. This amount is not suitable for the treasury of a central bank,” the statement said.
The bank confirmed that the Tripoli-branch sent “money in bags that are difficult to count, sort, and link, which is time-consuming, not to mention the differences that occur as a result of this primitive method.”