The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is conducting a field survey and extensive studies in the Egyptian market to identify reasons that hinder the achievement of financial inclusion in Egypt, said Mai Abol Naga, head of the Supervisory Instructions department at CBE, on Friday.
During her participation in the Financial Inclusion Conference held by the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Abol Naga explained that the survey is designed to measure the amount of knowledge of dealing with various financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and real estate financing companies. It aims to identify the reasons of financial exclusion, as well as to reach a national strategy to apply the concept of financial inclusion for all segments of society, in addition to establishing rules to protect clients.
Central banks in many countries are responsible for helping state bodies to put strategies for financial inclusion, according to Abol Naga.
She explained that CBE preferred not to directly put a national strategy for financial inclusion; instead, it conducted studies to identify the reasons for the absence of financial inclusion in Egypt, as well as the problems that hinder achieving it.
The results of the studies will determine the best method through which the CBE can achieve financial inclusion.
Based on these results, CBE can directly put a national strategy to achieve financial inclusion, or implement specific projects that achieve more positive results in this matter.
When central banks set their traditional goals, such as price stability, they are required to make sure their steps to achieve those goals do not negatively affect financial inclusion, said Abol Naga.
For example, if a central bank wants to cut interest rates to encourage investments, it must take into consideration that this measure may negatively affect financial inclusion, where depositors in banks may be pushed towards exiting if they do not accept the interest rate cut, Abol Naga explained.
She asserted that confidence in the banking sector is important in achieving financial inclusion, giving the example of Suez Canal certificates through which the banking sector collected EGP 64bn in just eight days, including EGP 27bn that entered banks for the first time.
