Egypt’s NBE bank: new high-yield deposit certificates attract 61,000 new clients

The National Bank of Egypt’s high-yielding certificates of deposits, launched following Nov.3 currency floatation, have attracted around 61,000 new clients with deposits exceeded 15 billion Egyptian pounds ($831 million), NBE senior official Hazem Hegazy said Wednesday.

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

On November 3rd, Egypt’s central bank decided to freely float the pound and raise key interest rates 300 basis points as part of a set of reforms aimed at alleviating a dollar shortage and stabilising the country’s flagging economy.