President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a decree to reshuffle the Board of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), before the expected expiration of the current board on 26 November.
According to presidential decree No.428/2015, the new Board of the CBE includes Tarek Hassan Amer as Governor, and Gamal Mohammed Abdul Aziz Negm, and Lobna Mohamed Helal as Deputy Governors of the CBE.
The board of the CBE includes President of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority Sherif Samy as a representative of the Ministry of Finance, and Hala El-Said and Leila Ahmed El-Khawaga as economic experts. It also includes Yehia Ahmed Ragheb El-Dakroury as a legal expert, and Kamal Samaan Bebawy Abu El- Kheir as financial and economic expert.
The decree stipulated that the term of office of the experienced members in the CBE is four years from 27 November.
Laila El-Khawaga, professor and department head at the Faculty of Economics, Cairo University, continues in her position as an economic expert.
“The new CBE board is homogeneous to a large extent, and its members have worked together before, which contributes to a smooth workflow at the central bank,” said Ismail Hassan, former CBE governor and Chairman of Misr Iran Development Bank (MIDB). Hassan pointed out that the exchange rate file is the most important file in front of the new board.
The presidential decree was limited to the formation of the CBE board. It did not tackle the governor’s agents or assistant agents, as they are chosen by the board. In is of note that there are six governor’s agents, and 10 assistant agents.
The surprise in the new composition of the board is the reappointment of Gamal Negm as first deputy governor, even though he reached the legal age of retirement, being one of the Hisham Ramez’s men. Another surprise is the return of Lobna Helal to the CBE after her resignation from it in January 2013 as second deputy governor.
Negm had joined the CBE in July 2004, and in November 2011 he was appointed as deputy governor. Negm is responsible for many sectors and departments in the bank, including the sector of control and supervision, which includes seven departments. He is also responsible for the management of printing banknotes and risk management.
In addition to his position at the CBE, Negm holds several other important positions, including membership of the Board of the EFSA as well as being a member of the Board of Trustees at the Unit for Combating Money Laundering in Egypt. He is also chairman of the non-executive board of the Arab International Bank, in addition to being a member of the board of directors and chairman of the audit committee at the United Bank of Egypt (UBE).
On the international level, Negm is a member of the Regional Consultative Group for the Middle East and North Africa, affiliated to the Financial Stability Board. He is also a member of the Board of Executive Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund, as well as a board member of the Arab Trade Financing Programme. He was also recently nominated to represent the CBE governor at the latest meeting of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).
Lobna Mohamed Helal resigned from her post on 31January, 2013, and currently occupies the positions of chairman of the Egyptian Company for Mortgage Refinance, and head of the Egyptian Federation of Real Estate Finance.
