Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) surprised the banking market by issuing savings certificates with a return of 12.5% annually, which is the highest return granted on savings in pounds in the Egyptian market.
According to Banque Misr, it issued this savings tool in order to meet its customers’ needs from different categories, and to diversify the products offered to them, especially in the sector of saving tools in pounds.
Banque Misr issued that tool with returns granted consistently during the entire certificate period, and calculated beginning from the second day of buying the certificate. Its categories start from EGP 1,000, and its multiples, issued to individuals, not companies.
According to Director General of the Treasury at the Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt (IDBE), Haitham Abdel Fattah, the market was expecting the NBE and Banque Misr to issue such saving tools with high returns, in order to attract citizens to save in Egyptian pounds, and give up on dollar.
Abdel Fattah believes this step may arrive due to instructions by Tarek Amer, the new Governor of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), to eliminate the dollarisation, and push citizens to sell dollars and save in pounds with high returns.
“Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt recalls what the two banks did in 2004 when they issued Al-Tamyoz Certificate and the Platinum Certificate with high returns, due to instructions by Farouk El-Okdah, the CBE governor at that time. The two banks succeeded then to attract savings worth tens of billions of pounds, and the market witnessed intensified dollar selling to buy the two certificates, which we hope to be repeated now, with the different circumstances the country is going through in comparison to 2004,” Abdel Fattah said.
Abdel Fattah believes that issuing such saving tools may be a prelude to increasing the interest rates on the pound by the CBE in the market as a whole to support the pound.
Abdel Fattah added that increasing the interest rates will not be before the first quarter of 2016; moreover, the decision will be made in parallel with other procedures so as not to affect the investment.
Banque Misr allows the buyers of the new saving certificates to receive the returns through debit cards. The certificate can be used as a guarantee in case the customer wishes to obtain loan; that is through easy terms, in addition to the chance of restoring the certificate’s value after six months from the buying date. The certificate can be bought from any of the bank’s branches, amounting to more than 500 branches nationwide.
