Egyptian banks’ high-yield saving certificates garner record EGP 642 billion in 6 weeks

According to the reports, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) attracted EGP 450 billion and Banque Misr collected EGP 227 billion.

Both banks, the state’s largest lenders, introduced the certificates on 5 January and are expected to stop issuing the new CDs this month.

The certificates are accessible online and through the banks mobile applications, available to both Egyptians and foreigners, including adults and minors.

The new CDs were issued after the expiration of last year’s 25 percent and 22.5 percent saving certificates—which collected around EGP 460 billion in less than a month.

The certificates serve as an investment option for individuals to cope with inflation the country has been facing.

Egypt has applied three waves of devaluation of its local currency since March 2022. This resulted in the pound losing over 70 percent of its value against the US dollar and significant price hikes for commodities.

However, there remains a gap between the rate of the Egyptian pound in the official and parallel market despite applying three waves of devaluation since March 2022.

On February 1, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised key interest rates by two percent (200 bps), a move that some analysts think may pave the way for further devaluation.

Since February 2022, Egypt has been grappling with a hard currency crunch driven by the global and domestic ramifications of the war in Ukraine and the global supply chain crisis.