Egypt's CBE Governor Ramez appoints caretaker for rest of term

Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hisham Ramez appointed deputy governor Gamal Negm to serve as caretaker governor until the end of his term, an official CBE spokesperson told Ahram Online on Wednesday.
"Governor Hisham Ramez has handed over his responsibilities to Gamal Negm and is on leave as of today, until the end of his term on 26 November," the spokesperson told Ahram Online in a phone interview on Wednesday.

The news comes as the CBE strengthened the Egyptian Pound against the U.S. Dollar by LE0.20 to an official rate of LE7.73 on Wednesday, to inject dollars into the banks, according to Reuters.

Bankers said that the CBE is offering dollars to banks at the stronger rate to help them cover a quarter of the dollar overdrafts they have opened up for clients suffering from strict currency controls that have led to a dollar shortage, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

In return, the CBE is expected to ask the banks to deposit dollars to boost its foreign currency reserves, currently standing at $16.4 billion, enough to cover three months worth of the country’s imports of food and fuel, the bankers told Reuters.