The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed, in a recent report, the most prominent performance indicators of banks operating in the Egyptian market in 2021.
According to the CBE, bank deposits by individuals increased to EGP 6.45trn in 2021, compared to about EGP 5.19trn in 2020, a growth of about EGP 1.26trn.
Meanwhile, government deposits in banks recorded EGP 1.3trn in 2021, compared to EGP 868.55bn in 2020, of which EGP 1.159trn was in the local currency, and EGP 140.5bn in foreign currencies.
The non-governmental deposits in banks amounted to EGP 5.150trn in 2021, compared to EGP 4.330trn in 2020, including deposits worth EGP 4.484trn in local currency, and EGP 666.325bn in foreign currencies.
Other deposits in local currency are: EGP 88.080bn by the public business sector, EGP 600.553bn by the private sector, EGP 3.781trn by the household sector, and EGP 14.791bn by non-residents.
Meanwhile, deposits in foreign currencies came as follows: EGP 29.502bn by the public business sector, EGP 182.160bn by the private sector, EGP 439.300bn by the household sector, and EGP 15.500bn by non-residents.
The CBE said that the household sector accounted for 82.4% of the total deposits in banks operating in the Egyptian market in 2021.
According to the CBE, the household sector accounted for about 84.6% of the total deposits in local currency, while its share of deposits in foreign currencies amounted to about 67.5%.
It explained that the growth rate in the total deposits in banks amounted to 18.83% in December 2021, compared to 18.98% in November 2021. It pointed out that the growth rate in deposits in local currency recorded 22.1% compared to 22%, while the growth rate of deposits in foreign currencies was 0.3%, compared to 2% .
According to the CBE, the share of deposits in foreign currencies decreased to 12.71% of the total deposits in banks in 2021, compared to 12.98% in November.
Regarding employment, the CBE said that the volume of credit facilities granted by banks operating in the local market to their customers amounted to EGP 3.1tn in 2021, pointing out that the volume of these facilities increased by EGP 195.3bn during the period extending from July to December of the same year.
Credit facilities mean the loans granted by banks to their clients, along with documentary credits and letters of guarantee opened to cover import operations.
The CBE attributed this rise to the increase in the volume of credit facilities granted to the government by banks by about EGP 80.4bn, with a growth rate of 7.3%, and the increase in the volume of facilities granted to non-governments by EGP 114.9bn, with a growth rate of 6.4%.
The increase in the balances of facilities granted by banks to the government came as a result of an increase in the volume of facilities in foreign currencies, equivalent to EGP 85.9bn, and a decrease in facilities in local currency, worth EGP 5.5bn.
It added that the private business sector obtained about 60.1% of the total non-governmental credit facilities granted by banks to the various economic sectors.
It noted that the industry sector was one of the top sectors financed by banks. Alone, it obtained about 28.5% of the total of those facilities, followed by the services sector, which accounted for 25.6% of the facilities, then the trade sector by 10.9%, and the agriculture sector by 2.5%.
According to the CBE, other sectors accounted for 32.5% of the volume of these facilities, of which 32.2% was for the household sector alone.
In the same context, the CBE revealed that the volume of outstanding balances of treasury bills reached EGP 1.442trn in 2021, compared to EGP 1.445tn in November 2021.
The CBE pointed out that the investments of public sector banks in bills amounted to about EGP 202.015bn, compared to EGP 210.098bn, while private sector investments recorded about EGP 301.541bn, compared to EGP 316.7bn.
The investments of specialized banks recorded EGP 47.764bn at the end of 2021, compared to EGP 40.221bn in November 2021. The investments of foreign bank branches recorded about EGP 40.295bn, compared to EGP 38.558bn in November 2021.
The CBE said that net domestic assets increased, during the period extending from July to December 2021, by EGP 679.9bn, or a rate of 13.3%, as a result of the increase in domestic credit by about EGP 377.4bn, at a rate of 7%, and the negative balance of net budget items decreased by about EGP 302.5bn.
The CBE explained that domestic credit increased as a result of an increase in net liabilities from the government by EGP 243.4bn, and liabilities from the private business sector by EGP 80.8bn, and the household sector by EGP 59.7bn, while liabilities from the public business sector decreased by EGP 6.5bn.
On the other hand, the CBE revealed a decrease in the net foreign assets of the banking system by EGP 213.9bn during the period extending from July to December 2021, pointing out that this decrease came as a result of the decline in its net foreign assets by nearly EGP 30bn, and a decrease in net foreign assets of banks by nearly EGP 183.9bn.
