Lebanon's central bank told commercial banks on Wednesday to cap their interest rates on deposits in foreign currencies at 5% and to cap the rate on Lebanese pound deposits at 8.5%.

In a circular seen by Reuters, it said this would apply to all new deposits and those renewed from Dec. 4. It said banks should pay interest on foreign currency deposits half in the currency of the account and half in Lebanese pounds.

The measures would be valid for six months, it said.

All deposits made before Dec. 5 would remain subject to the agreement between the bank and the customer, it said.