The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed that the household sector accounts for 79.5% of total bank deposits until the end of April 2019.
The household sector scored 83.1% of total deposits in local currency, and 67.2% of foreign currency deposits, the CBE said in its monthly report last Tuesday.
Total bank deposits
The CBE pointed out that the total deposits of individuals in banks rose by about EGP 1bn in April, reaching about EGP 3.932tn, compared to EGP 3.931tn in March 2019.
While the government deposits in banks declined by about EGP 18.666bn to reach EGP 615.425bn in April, compared to EGP 634.091bn in March.
The non-government deposits rose by EGP 19.654bn to reach EGP 3.316tn, compared to EGP 3.296tn in March.
Government deposits in local currency amounted to about EGP 500.989bn, while deposits in foreign currency amounted to EGP 114.436bn.
The report pointed out that non-government deposits in local currency increased from EGP 2.547tn in March to EGP 2.566tn in April, of which the public sector accounted for EGP 57.764bn, the private sector (EGP 375.153bn), the household sector (EGP 2.124tn), and the non-residents (EGP 9.419bn).
Deposits in foreign currencies amounted from EGP 749.718bn in March to EGP 749.896bn in April, of which the public sector accounted for about EGP 40.567bn, the private sector (EGP 203.279bn), the household sector (EGP 498.105bn), and the non-residents (EGP 8.137bn).
According to the CBE, the total deposit growth rate declined to 11.46% in April from 11.85% in May. The growth rate of deposits in local currency was 13%, while the growth in foreign currency deposits reached 6.3%. Foreign currency deposits accounted for 22.48% of total deposits in banks in April.
Credit facilities
Total credit facilities granted by banks to their customers increased by EGP 242.6bn to reach EGP 1.872tn during the period from July 2018 to April 2019, according to the CBE.
Credit facilities are loans provided by banks to their clients alongside letters of credit provided to pay for imported shipments.
The CBE explained that the private sector has obtained about 60.6% of the total non-government facilities granted by banks to different economic bodies until the end of April 2019.
It added that the industry sector has denominated 33.6% of these facilities, followed by the service sector by 27.3%, the trade sector by 10.6%, the agriculture sector by 1.6%, and miscellaneous sectors–including household–by 26.9%.
Loan portfolios
Loan portfolios in banks, except the CBE, during April 2019 rose by EGP 15bn to about EGP 1.858tn, compared to about EGP 1.843tn in March 2019.
The CBE explained that the loans granted to the government amounted to about EGP 569bn, of which about EGP 231.8bn is in local currency, and about EGP 337.1bn in foreign currency.
Total non-government loans rose in April to reach EGP 1.289tn, of which about EGP 1.003tn worth loans are in local currency.
According to the CBE, the agricultural sector had EGP 18.1bn loans, the industrial sector (EGP 298.2bn), the commercial sector (EGP 121.3bn), and the service sector (EGP 243.1bn). Other sectors, including the household sector, local non-profit organisations, and foreign bodies operating in Egypt, received EGP 322.9bn loans.
The total foreign currency loans amounted to EGP 285.5bn, of which the agricultural sector accounted for EGP 2.3bn, the industrial sector (EGP 136.5bn), the commercial sector (EGP 16.3bn), and the service sector (EGP 110.8bn), while other sectors, including the household, local non-profit organisations, and foreign bodies operating in Egypt, accounted for EGP 193.2bn.
Government treasury bills
The CBE disclosed that the investments of banks operating in the local market in government treasury bills (T-Bills) increased to EGP 684.773bn in May 2019, compared to EGP 680.882bn at the end of April, an increase of EGP 3.891bn.
The total outstanding T-Bills amounted to about EGP 1.394tn at the end of May, compared to EGP 1.362tn at the end of April, an increase of EGP 32bn.
Banks accounted for 49.11% of the total T-Bills.
According to the CBE, public sector banks increased their investments in T-Bills to about EGP 361.461bn at the end of May, compared to EGP 353.397bn at the end of April, an increase of EGP 7.864bn.
Specialised banks’ investments in T-Bills rose to EGP 15.255bn, compared to EGP 15.067bn, marking an increase of EGP 188m.
In contrast, private banks’ investments in T-Bills fell by EGP 3.314bn in May 2019 to reach EGP 272.119bn, compared to EGP 275.433bn at the end of April.
Investments of foreign banks’ branches in T-Bills fell to EGP 36.138bn in May, against EGP 36.985bn in April, a decrease of EGP 847m.
Securities portfolio
According to the CBE, the total securities portfolio in banks, except the CBE, which includes bank investments in shares, bonds, and investment fund securities, fell to EGP 1.756tn at the end of April 2019, compared to EGP 1.767tn at the end of March 2019, a decline of EGP 11.2bn.
The CBE explained that the portfolio of local currency securities decreased by EGP 8.9bn during April to reach EGP 1.387bn, compared to EGP 1.396tn in March.
Moreover, the CBE pointed out that the foreign currency securities portfolio fell by EGP 2bn in April to reach EGP 368bn, compared to EGP 370bn at the end of March.
It added that the government sector accounted for the largest share of this portfolio by EGP 1.663tn, while the private sector had EGP 78.58bn, the public enterprise sector by EGP 561m, and the External sectorhas acquired EGP 14.03bn.
Net foreign assets
The CBE said that the net foreign assets of the banking sector decreased by EGP 33.2bn during the period from July 2018 to April 2019.
It pointed out that this decrease was the result of the decline in the net foreign assets of the CBE by EGP 47.1bn during that period, while net foreign assets of banks amounted by EGP 13.9bn.
Meanwhile, the net domestic assets of the banking sector increased by EGP 341.3bn (10.9%) during that period.
The increase in net domestic assets is due to the increase in domestic credit by EGP 307.6bn, an increase of 8.9%, and the negative equilibrium of net balancing items decreased by EGP 33.7bn, marking a rate of 10.7%.
The CBE pointed out that the increase in domestic credit was the result of a rise in net liabilities from the government by EGP 181.4bn from the household sector to EGP 62bn, from the private enterprise sector by EGP 60.4bn, and from the public sector by EGP 3.8bn.
Financial position of banks
The financial position of the banks operating in Egypt rose by EGP 71.5bn at the end of April 2019 to reach EGP 5.74tn, compared to EGP 5.668tn at the end of March 2019.
According to the CBE, this increase, at the asset level, was supported by the rise in Loan and discount balances to reach EGP 1.872tn at the end of April, compared to EGP 1.856tn at the end of March, and the rise of other assets to record EGP 594.9bn against EGP 539.2bn.
The balance of overseas banks also rose to EGP 287.7bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 275.3bn at the end of March.
In contrast, banks’ investment in securities and T-Bills fell to about EGP 1.757tn at the end of April, compared to EGP 1.768tn at the end of March.
For liabilities, most of the increase came from the rise in banks’ commitments in Egypt to EGP 264.66bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 247.22bn at the end of March, and other liabilities, to record EGP 698.98bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 631.18bn at the end of March.
Deposits increased slightly to reach EGP 3.916tn against EGP 3.915tn while liabilities on Egyptian banks to overseas banks declined to record EGP 174.5bn, compared to EGP 190.7bn.
Local banks’ capital stabilised at EGP 152bn during April, reserves stood at EGP 237bn, and allocations increased from EGP 121.7bn to EGP 123.5bn.
