The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is considering granting loans worth EGP 7bn to several economic sectors during the coming period, according to deputy chairperson Yehia Aboul Fotouh.
Aboul Fotouh told Daily News Egypt that these sectors include new and renewable energy, electricity, and oil.
In a different context, Aboul Fotouh said that the NBE settled EGP 2bn worth of non-performing loans between July 2015 and the end of April 2016. The bank has already collected EGP 900m of the total figure.
Aboul Fotouh noted that the bank’s distressed debt portfolio amount to EGP 5.2bn, 2.5% of its total credit facilities. The bank aims to reduce this figure to EGP 4.5bn by the end of June 2016.
The NBE has raised the size of its loans for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from EGP 5.6bn to EGP 23.9bn over six years, between June 2010 and April 2016.
Aboul Fotouh said that EGP 20.7bn of these loans were injected by the bank directly into projects, while the remainder EGP 3.2bn came in form of letters of credit and letters of guarantee.
He added that EGP 22bn of the granted loans were already used. About EGP 2bn will be withdrawn in the coming period.
Aboul Fotouh noted that the bank’s SMEs clients increased from 4,000 clients in June 2010 to 43,000 existing customers, in addition to other clients who paid back their loans already.
According to Aboul Fotouh, defaulting loans in this sector currently stand at less than 1.5%. He noted that Upper and Lower Egypt clients are more committed to repaying their loans than Cairo based clients.
In a different context, Aboul Fotouh said that the bank’s 15% interest saving certificates put forward to clients in exchange for giving up dollars, collected some EGP 1.5bn until the bank stopped their sale in mid-May.
He added that all savings certificates put forward by the bank during the past three months to attract foreign currency collected $500m.
