Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC) decided to open four new Islamic banking windows in Beni Suef, Qalyobia, Behera and Fayoum in next June to reach 15 Islamic banking branches, said Mohsen El Batran, chairman of the Bank.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has granted the Bank licenses for opening 13 Islamic windows, El Batran said, adding that PBDAC targets to launch more Islamic windows to reach 24 branches by the next fiscal year.

The Bank has set a new system to share in the farming costs and receive the loans repayment after selling the crops. The role of the Egyptian Agriculture Development Co., subsidiary of PBDAC, will be activated in the Bank’s Islamic windows as the Company will offer 80% of the loan to farmers in the form of high-quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Under the new system, farmers will receive the remaining 20% of the loans in cash to pay the rest of the costs. The Company will sell the crop and take 80% of the value of the loan.

The new system will attract many farmers who refuse dealing with banks because of the “usury rates” that is prohibited by some Islamists. The Bank plans to set up a sector for Islamic banking operations to be headquartered in Tahrir, El Batran added.