No devaluation expected after Banque Misr raised USD CDs yield

Banque Misr raised on Wednesday the yields on its US dollar-denominated CDs and savings accounts by more than 0.37 percent, with annual yields ranging from 2.60 percent to three percent. The bank also raised the dollar deposits’ annual yield to reach 3.8 percent.

In July 2023, the state-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr announced the issuance of new three-year US dollar certificates of deposit (CDs), which can be paid quarterly or annually in US dollars or Egyptian pounds. The banks issued them amid a dollar shortage, as Egypt has faced a shortage in hard currency since the Russian-Ukrainian war. 

The shortage crisis started to ease when Egypt initiated Ras El-Hekma, a historic megaproject on the North Coast, which will pump $35 billion of foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the economy in its initial phases.

Moaty added that raising interest rates on the US dollar means that banks can operate flexibly. Each bank evaluates its resources and assets alongside the needs of importers and clients, making decisions based on those liabilities.

He explained that by reducing the yield on dollar certificates by 0.5 percent on Sunday, specifically for fixed-rate certificates with a 3-year term by the Commercial International Bank (CIB).

He asserted that the returns are adjusted according to the yield of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

He added that Banque Misr is seeking to attract clients who own foreign currency to benefit from the returns, while at the same time, the bank has importers and is seeking to introduce new hard currency sources to meet their needs.

CBE kept the interest rate unchanged during its last meeting. The overnight deposit, overnight lending, and main operations rates also held steady at 28.25 percent, 27.75 percent, and 27.75 percent, respectively.