Banks received $400m since pound flotation

Deputy President of Banque Misr Akef el Maghrabi said Egyptian banks have received dlrs 400 million from customers since the floatation decision of the Egyptian pound.

Addressing a conference on "People and Banks", Maghrabi termed as "historic" the decision to float the Egyptian pound which has notably helped in increasing the dollar accounts at the Egyptian banks.

He also said bankers are exerting much efforts to handle the concession of dollar by customers as well as sell the three-year investment certificate with interest rate of 16 to 20 percent.

The official also explained that Banque Misr is financing a number of small- and medium-scale projects that could play a vital role in propelling the economy.

He said the bank has pumped EGP 2 billion to finance the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) initiative to fund small- and medium-scale projects which benefited as many as 150,000 customers.