CBE provides 10-year interest-free loan to 3 major banks

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Wednesday provided an interest-free loan to three major banks, including the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire. The loan is worth EGP 31bn and will last for a 10-year period, according to a source that preferred to remain anonymous.

The source said that the loan aims to support the capital base of the banks, and to adjust their capital adequacy rates in accordance with international rates, led by the Basel II Framework.

According to a senior official at Banque Misr, the bank’s share of the loan is EGP 16bn. It is also believed that the NBE obtained EGP 5bn, and Banque du Caire obtained EGP 10bn.

The source noted that the CBE organised an auction and offered its bonds in favour of the Ministry of Finance for the same value, where public banks subscribed for the three-year bonds with a return rate of 16%.

The volume of the deposits in the banking system increased by EGP 14bn in April compared to March, to register EGP 2.01bn.

The total foreign currency deposits amounted to EGP 321.5bn, of which EGP 17.9bn were in the public business sector, EGP 100.8bn in the private business sector, and EGP 199.2bn in the household sector.

The total deposits in the banking system increased by roughly EGP 72bn in March to register EGP 2tn.

According to the CBE’s recent press release, the bank will pursue a more flexible policy for treating the distortions in the exchange rate system, and to restore foreign exchange trading within the banking system on a regular and sustainable basis that reflects the mechanisms of supply and demand.