The Federation of Egyptian Banks held a celebration on Tuesday in honour of Hisham Ramez, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), who is scheduled to leave office on 26 November.
Ramez resigned from the top job last month, and will be replaced by Tarek Amer on 27 November.
Since becoming CBE governor in February 2013, Ramez faced many challenges, most notably attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to change the operations of the institution. He worked hard to maintain the bank’s independence throughout the controversial period.
He was also responsible for many initiatives aimed at dealing with the effects of the unrest in Egypt. These included projects in the areas of tourism and finance, as well as mini-branches and the promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
As governor, he faced strong opposition from the business community, especially importers, for various controversial decisions he took. These included capping dollar deposits at banks and prioritising financing import operations for basic commodities and production requirements.
He was also criticised for depreciating the Egyptian pound on several occasions.
On the sidelines of International Monetary Fund meeting held in the Republic of Peru last month, he was given an award for being the best governor of a central bank in the Middle East and North Africa. He also received the Visionary Leadership Award from the Union of Arab Banks in 2014.
