Egyptian banks' high-yield certificates of deposit pull in EGP 460 billion

Banque Misr and the NBE, Egypt’s biggest state-owned banks, as well as Banque du Caire, have announced that they will stop on Tuesday issuing the 25 percent annual yield CDs, which are also available with a monthly yield of 22.5 percent, less than a month after their issuance.

Meanwhile, Banque du Caire will continue to offer its Primo Gold Certificates of Deposit at an annual yield of 17.25 percent, a quarterly yield of 16.25 percent, and a monthly yield of 16 percent, the bank said on Monday.

The move to issue the new CDs aimed to tackle inflation and attract foreign exchange as the country has been hit by the ongoing global economic crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine.

The NBE and Banque Misr started issuing the certificates a few days before the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) depreciated the local currency on 11 January for the third time in a year, which has sent the Egyptian pound to its lowest level on record against the US dollar. This is the highest return on saving certificates in Egypt.