Egypt’s c.bank Oks new regulations tightening control on micro-financing

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has approved new regulations and terms regarding credit facilities provided by Egyptian banks to enterprises, associations and civil society organisations that provide micro-financing services.

The new regulations aim at establishing tighter controls on granting finance to those entities.

According to the new regulations and terms, banks have to submit those entities’ credit lines to the Egyptian Credit Bureau, I-Score, which will investigate the micro-finance enterprises or associations to ascertain that they did not take more than three loans from three different banking corporations.

Banks are also bound to attain a letter from the Financial Regulatory Association (FRA) affirming the performance safety of individual micro-finance enterprises or associations, their commitment to FRA micro-finance practicing standards, and verification that no prior breaches of standards have been committed.

The regulations also stipulate ceilings on entity leverage.

If micro-finance entities violate any provisions of Law No. 141 for 2014, which sets controls for micro-finance activity in Egypt’s domestic market, banks will be obliged to withhold further funds until the entity corrects any irregularities within a FRA-defined timescale.

Source: Ahram Online