The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr succeeded in collecting more than EGP 28bn through the 12.5% interest certificate they issued, only five days since the issuance of both certificates.
The Platinum Certificate issued by the NBE attracted liquidity worth more than EGP 20bn until last Thursday, according to Chairman Hisham Okasha.
The liquidity collected by the Banque Misr ceriticate amounted to more than EGP 8bn, its Chairman Mohamed El-Etreby said.
Both certificates issued by NBE and Banque Misr are attracting liquidity from different categories of citizens and from inside and outside the banking sector, Okasha told Daily News Egypt. Liquidity from schemes in both banks was already transferred to those certificates. They also attracted liquidity from other banks operating in the Egyptian market and new liquidity from outside the banking sector.
Okasha said the last few days witnessed dollar selling operations by citizens to buy the two new certificates. However, it is difficult to determine the value of the dollars sold.
Okasha said both certificates are just saving schemes like the other schemes the two banks issued and they were issued to meet the customers’ needs to help them make monthly fixed high returns, enabling them to face the increase in prices.
Soon after the certificates were issued, a number of banks issued savings certificates with high returns, fearing that their customers would leave to buy the new certificates in order to maintain their competitiveness in the market.
On top of these banks is Société Arabe Internationale de Banque (SAIB), which issued a three-year saving certificate with an annual interest rate of 12.5%, to be received monthly. Banque Du Caire issued a similar certificate under the name ‘Primo Star’.
The Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt (IDBE) acquired the approval of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to issue a new saving certificate with a 12.75% interest rate.
IDBE’s certificate was issued under the name of Al-Masry; it is a three-year certificate and its return can be received every three months. The certificate will be offered to customers starting 15 November, according to the bank’s Director General of the Treasury and Capital Markets Haitham Abdel Fattah.
Other banks are studying issuing similar saving schemes, while others are waiting for the trend of the return values on treasury bills and bonds, in which they invest the majority of their liquidity in pounds, before making any decisions regarding raising the interest rates on their saving schemes.
The return on treasury bills and bonds however remained stable during last week while the market awaits its trend during the upcoming week.
