(DNE Photo)
By Walid Abdel Azim
Barclays Bank Egypt aims to pump EGP 250m into small and medium projects throughout 2015, according to the Bank’s Director of Strategy, Planning, Marketing and Institutional Relations Sector, Sherif El-Behairi.
The additional investment will bring the total funding for clients up to EGP 850m by the end of the year, with the bank granting funds for this sector started in mid-2014.
El-Behairi added that the bank placed EGP 600m into these projects by the end of 2014, adding that the results of the bank’s total businesses are still under scrutiny and review.
The proportion of loans to deposits allocated for small and medium projects does not exceed 50%, El-Behairi added. The bank allocates investments worth EGP 1.2bn to fund these projects, noting that Barclays pays great attention to this sector through its strategy for the current year.
“The bank is negotiating with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) to sign a funding contract about re-lending to clients of small and medium projects,” El-Behairi said. “Barclays Bank has not reached a final agreement due to changing leaders of the SFD during last period.”
He explained that the bank put expansion in the provision of e-services at the head of its priorities for the current year. This comes in addition to providing internet banking, and the conversion of branches to digital services to provide faster service to the customer.
El-Behairi explained the bank intends to participate in all national projects and the development of the Suez Canal axis according to the bank’s credit and depends on good study of the feasibility of the project.
