Moody’s Declares ‘Deposit Default’ for Three Top Lebanese Banks

Moody’s Investors Service said emergency measures by Lebanon’s central bank to address foreign-currency shortages forced three of the country’s top lenders into a “deposit default.”

Bank Audi, Blom Bank and Byblos Bank also had their baseline credit assessments, or BCAs, downgraded to the second lowest level in what Moody’s said wasn’t a credit rating action. It describes BCAs as an opinion on “issuers’ standalone intrinsic strength,” absent any extraordinary support from outside.