Demand for residential real estate in Lebanon improved in the third quarter of 2018, as reflected by the results of the Byblos Bank Real Estate Demand Index. The Index posted a monthly average of 51.4 points in the third quarter of 2018, constituting an increase of 17.4% from 43.7 points in the second quarter of 2018 and a growth of 3.7% from 49.6 points in the third quarter of 2017. The Index decreased by 19.3% in July and by 14.2% in August, but increased by 26.3% in September.

Demand for housing in Lebanon improved in the third quarter of the year following the Lebanese Parliament's vote in September to allocate LBP100bn, or $66m, to subsidize interest rates on housing loans, given the suspension of subsidies since the beginning of the year. As a result, the new law raised the expectations of citizens that subsidized mortgages will resume, which triggered the jump of the Index in September.

However, the increase of the Index in the third quarter does not reflect a change in the current dynamics of the housing market, as the improvement comes from a low base following the first and second-quarter results, and is only based on the expectations of citizens. Further, the Index's average monthly score in the third quarter of 2018 is 61% lower from the peak of 131 points registered in the second quarter of 2010, and remained 53.2% below the annual peak of 109.8 points posted in 2010. Also, it was 14% lower than the Index's monthly trend average score of 59.8 points since the Index's inception in July 2007.

Lebanese government published the official text of Law 81 about electronic transactions and personal data, which Parliament enacted during its sessions of September 24 and 25, 2018. The law provides the legal framework for the electronic signature and e-commerce, as well as for the protection of personal data on electronic platforms. It is divided into eight sections. 

The first section provides the legal provisions related to writing on electronic platforms and verifying the digital content. It recognizes electronic writing and signature, as long as the digital content is verified. It also requires the electronic data to be protected and accessible when needed. It provides the legal basis related to electronic fraud, the verification of electronic content, the protection of electronic data, and the role of electronic certification service providers, among others.

The second part of the law regulates e-commerce transactions and contracts, as it specifies the duties and rights of all related parties. It also regulates electronic banking and financial services, including electronic payment orders, electronic transfers, as well as banking cards, electronic money and electronic checks. The third section of the law regulates the way data hosts transmit information to the public, while the fourth part of the law provides the legal framework for the Lebanese domain name '.lb'. 

The fifth part covers the protection and the processing of personal data, and gives individuals legal rights when processing their data, such as the right to object or to question the processing of their data, as well as to rectify, update or delete their data. The sixth section deals with data-related crimes, along with adjustments to the penal code. The seventh part of the law includes amendments to the consumer protection law, so that the latter becomes aligned with the e-commerce regulations. The last part of the law ensures the consistency of Law 81 with the Banking Secrecy Law, among other laws.

In its 2018 survey of the Top 100 banks in the Arab world, The Banker magazine included 11 Lebanese commercial banks on its list. In comparison, there were 21 banks from the UAE, 12 banks from Saudi Arabia, 10 from each of Bahrain and Qatar, nine from Kuwait, seven from each of Morocco and Oman, six from Egypt, five from Jordan, and one bank from each of Algeria and Tunisia.

The Banker indicated that the aggregate Tier One capital of the 11 Lebanese banks reached $17.1bn at the end of 2017, constituting an increase of 6.6% from $16bn at end-2016, and representing 5.1% of the aggregate Tier One capital of the Top 100 Arab banks that stood at $334bn at end-2017. Banks in Saudi Arabia accounted for 28.5% of the aggregate Tier One capital of the Top 100 Arab banks at end-2017, followed by those in the UAE (25.6%), Qatar (13.4%), Kuwait (8%), Bahrain (5.6%), Morocco (3.9%), Egypt (3.7%), Oman (3.1%), Jordan (2.4%), Algeria (0.6%) and Tunisia (0.1%).

Also, the aggregate assets of the 11 Lebanese banks reached $216.8bn at the end of 2017, up by 6.1% from a year earlier, and representing 7.7% of the Top 100 Arab banks' aggregate assets that reached $2,809bn at end-2017. In parallel, banks in the UAE accounted for 24.4% of the Top 100 Arab banks' aggregate assets at end-2017, followed by banks in Saudi Arabia (21.1%), Qatar (14.9%), Kuwait (8.5%), Egypt (6.1%), Morocco (5.6%), Bahrain (5.3%), Oman and Jordan (2.6% each), Algeria (0.9%) and Tunisia (0.2%). As such, the 11 Lebanese banks' Tier One capital-to-assets ratio stood at 7.9% at the end of 2017, compared to the Top 100 Arab banks' ratio of 11.9% and relative to the Top 1000 global banks' ratio of 6.7%.