Banque Misr raises $900 million since Egyptian pound float move – official

Egypt’s second biggest bank, state-owned Banque Misr has collected $900 million since Nov.3 decision to freely float Egyptian pound against U.S. dollar, vice chairman Akef El Maghraby said Monday.

“We have opened letters of credit worth around $1.6 billion to meet import payments since pound float move,” El Maghraby further told Amwal Al Ghad.

Banque Misr has received around 74 billion Egyptian pounds (around $4 billion) from high-yielding certificates of deposit it started offering on Nov. 3, the banking official added.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided earlier in November to float the Egyptian pound and raise key interest rates as part of a set of reforms aimed at alleviating the dollar shortage, eradicating the black market, and stabilising the country’s flagging economy.

Following the central bank’s decision to float the Egyptian pound and raise key interest rates, Banque Misr announced offering 18-month certificates of deposit at 20 percent and three-year certificates of deposit at 16 percent.