Economist Mokhtar Al-Jadeed has called for a change in the approach to addressing the cash liquidity crisis that Libyan banks have been suffering from for more than ten years, stressing that focusing on retrieving cash from individuals and returning it to bank vaults has been a repeated failure.
Al-Jadeed explained in a post that the constant effort to persuade or force those holding cash to deposit it in banks has yielded no significant results; instead, it has led people to cling more tightly to the cash they possess.
He pointed out that the solution lies in adopting a different policy based on reducing reliance on cash by imposing commissions on large cash withdrawals and deposits intended for hoarding, while exempting citizens who transact within the limits of their monthly salaries.
Al-Jadeed added that among the proposed measures is giving priority to those with bank balances in obtaining foreign currency, which would automatically encourage electronic banking transactions without the need for administrative enforcement.
He affirmed that this strategy, based on reducing the appeal of cash transactions and promoting electronic alternatives, could represent a practical step towards ending the liquidity crisis and achieving greater balance in the financial cycle within the national economy.