New Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer will head the first meeting of the bank’s new Board of Directors on Sunday.
Amer was scheduled to take the chair on 27 November, according to a presidential decision. However, the date fell on a Friday, which is an official holiday at the CBE and banks operating in the Egyptian market, thereby delaying the step to a Sunday on 29 November.
The Director General of the Treasury of the Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt, Haitham Abdel Fattah, said the market is anticipating any signs that indicate the CBE’s new strategy of their many files.
Among those files are the domestic interest rates following the sudden recent decisions taken by some banks in the market, according to Abdel Fattah.
“Banks are also waiting for the CBE to cover the remaining temporary credit facilities granted by banks to their customers of importers, having covered 25% of these facilities on 12 November. It is expected to cover another 25% in a few days,” he said.
The market is also awaiting new decisions regarding dollar deposit caps, which now stand at $10,000 per day with a maximum of $50,000 a month.
Earlier in November, the CBE depreciated the US dollar against the pound by 20 piasters at banks, bringing the price of the dollar in the CBE to EGP 7.8301, EGP 7.78 for buying and EGP 7.8301 for selling at banks.
Abdel Fattah said the market will also be expecting any signals to indicate the CBE’s new strategy with exchange rates and whether it will strengthen the pound further against the dollar or not.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a decree to reshuffle the CBE’s Board of Directors before the expected expiration of the current board on 26 November.
According to presidential decree No.428/2015, the new CBE board includes Tarek Hassan Amer as Governor and Gamal Mohammed Abdul Aziz Negm and Lobna Mohamed Helal as Deputy Governors.
The CBE board also 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 a financial and economic expert.
The decree stipulated that the term of office of the experienced members in CBE is four years starting on 27 November.
