Banks issuing the Suez Canal certificates of deposit (CDs) will begin next Thursday to repay the value of CD to holders as they mature on 4 September.
In a proactive step, the four banks involved in the issuance of these certificates, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and the Suez Canal Bank, issued a statement in which they revealed that they are offering a variety of savings products that the owners of the certificates can invest in.
The four banks aim to keep the proceeds of these certificates within the banking sector.
The value of CDs amount to EGP 64bn, owned by about 1.1 million customers, issued in September 2014, in order to finance the new Suez Canal national project.
The four issuing banks said in their joint statement that they will offer the holders various saving products, in order to maximise the benefit for these CDs holders, encourage them to reinvest the money in the banking system, and to attract more prospective customers.
They explained that, among these products, current accounts, savings accounts, deposits and CDs of various maturities, which are characterised by different yields, and vary in disbursement schemes, including monthly, quarterly, biannually, and annually.
They added that customers can withdraw the yield through ATMs using debit cards.
According to the statement, this step aims to boost financial inclusion in line of the the Central Bank of Egypt goals. Financial inclusion would improve economic growth rates, improve financial stability and social development, through attracting more Egyptians into the banking system, and the the integration of the informal sector.
They pointed out that they are carrying out many activities that ensure financial inclusion, stressing that achieving this goal has become an inevitable necessity and not a choice, and is a priority for banks in Egypt in the coming period.
They added that this move also comes within the framework of the banks’ eagerness to satisfy their customers’ needs. Thus the four banks are working to constantly develop their existing savings products to suit these needs.
