CIB launches 6 percent 1-year USD certificates in Egypt

The minimal purchase of the new CDs is $10,000, the bank said in a statement, noting that clients can redeem the new certificates at any time.

On 26 July, the state-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr issued four US dollar-denominated annual-yield certificates of deposit (CDs) with a maturity of three years.

The backdrop for these financial initiatives is Egypt's current challenge in coping with a shortage of US dollar liquidity in the local market and a financing gap estimated at $17 billion through 2026.

Consequently, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealed in July the government's plan to enhance the country's US dollar liquidity to reach $191 billion by 2026. The government will focus on leveraging revenues from tourism, the Suez Canal, remittances, and commodity exports to bolster the nation's financial position.

In January, NBE and Banque Misr issued one-year maturity CDs with a 25 percent yield after one year, the highest yield on record.

Egyptian state-owned and private-sector banks have issued several high-yield CDs over the past 18 months to absorb the liquidity in the local market amid rising inflation and interest rate hikes.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt is set to convene on 3 August to review the key interest rates in light of the latest economic developments on the local and global levels.

Established in 1975, CIB is Egypt’s leading private sector bank offering a broad range of financial products and services to enterprises of all sizes, institutions, households and high-net-worth individuals.

The bank's total assets reached EGP 635.83 billion (or around $20.6 billion) in 2022, up from EGP 498.23 billion in 2021.