EGP 23.3bn increase in bank loans in March: CBE

By Hossam Mounir

The loans’ portfolio in the working banks in the Egyptian market increased by EGP23.352bn during last March, amounting to EGP 675.334bn, compared to EGP 651.982bn during February, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

“Feeling improvement in the security, political and economic stability pushed the investors to expand in their businesses, which contributed to increasing the credit facilities in the banks,” said Abdel Rahman Abdel Baset, Head of the Central Banking Operations Sector at the Housing and Development Bank (HDB).

According to CBE, the private sector alone acquired 80.8% out of the total loans given by banks during March.

The private sector leads the economic activity and the development process in any country; consequently, most of the times it acquires the highest percentage in the loans volume in the banks, said Abdel Baset.

The industry sector was and still is the sector with the biggest share in the banks’ loans. According to CBE, the volume of the loans in this sector alone amounted to EGP 214.834bn in March, compared to EGP 210.911bn in February, with an increase of EGP 3.923bn.

Abdel Baset added that last March witnessed a significant increase in the demands submitted to build new factories and restart other halted ones, which led to increasing demand on banks’ loans.

Abdel Baset believes that there are also some halted tourism projects that have begun to be resumed with the increase in the tourism flow to the country over the last period, which explains the increase in the volume of the loans directed to the services sector, of which tourism is the most prominent activity.

The loans acquired by the service sector amounted to EGP 157.849bn last March, compared to EGP 148.25bn in November, with an increase of EGP 9.599bn, according to the CBE.

Most important credit rates of working banks in the Egyptian market

Value in EGP 1m

Source: Central Bank of Egypt

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