The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed that the deposit volume in banks working in the Egyptian market increased by EGP 41.5bn in April 2018, reaching EGP 3.525tn, compared to EGP 3.485tn in March 2018. According to a recent report by the CBE, government deposits in banks increased by EGP 6.5bn, reaching EGP 545.646bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 539.145bn by the end of March. Non-government deposits increased by the end of April 2018 by EGP 35bn, reaching EGP 2.98tn, compared to EGP 2.945tn at the end of March 2018. According to the CBE, non-government deposits in local currency increased by about EGP 30bn, reaching EGP 2.274tn in April, compared to EGP 2.244tn in March. Deposits in foreign currency increased by EGP 4bn to reach EGP 705.163bn compared to EGP 701.003bn. The CBE noted that the growth of deposits in banks in April 2018 accounted for 23.47%, compared to 24.09% in March. The growth rate of deposits in Egyptian pounds accounted for 31.8%, with 2.5% in foreign currency deposits. The household sector increased its deposits in banks by the end of April 2018 to EGP 2.333tn, acquiring 78.9% of the total deposits in banks and about 82.5% of the deposits in local currency, and nearly 67% of deposits in foreign currencies, according to the CBE. At the same time, the CBE disclosed that the banks working in the Egyptian market injected new loans worth EGP 35.861bn in April 2018, bringing the total lending portfolio to EGP 1.574tn, compared to EGP 1.538tn at the end of March 2018. According to the CBE, loans from banks to the government increased by EGP 17.11bn to reach EGP 437.642bn year-over-year by the end of April, compared to EGP 420.532bn at the end of March. The volume of government loans in local currency at the end of April 2018 amounted to EGP 217.979bn and in foreign currency to EGP 219.663bn. The CBE said that loans from non-government banks rose to EGP 18.751bn in April 2018 to reach EGP 1.136tn, compared to EGP 1.117tn at the end of March 2018. The CBE added that non-governmental loans in local currency increased by EGP 25.316bn to reach EGP 814.626bn, compared to about EGP 789.31bn. On the other hand, loans in foreign currencies decreased by about EGP 6.565bn to EGP 321.866bn, compared to EGP 328.431bn. “The private sector accounted for 61.7% of the total loans granted by banks to their clients by the end of April 2018, while the volume of loans received by regular persons reached nearly EGP 11.4bn,” the CBE disclosed. It pointed out that the volume of loans directed to individuals in local and foreign currencies were estimated to be EGP 273.3bn at the end of April 2018, compared to EGP 261.9bn at the end of March. “The volume of credit facilities granted by banks working in the local market to its clients by the end of April 2018 reached about EGP 1.585tn, compared to EGP 1.549tn by the end of March 2018, an increase of about EGP 35.65bn,” the CBE said Credit facilities are loans granted by banks to their clients, along with letters of credit and letters of guarantee opened to cover importation processes. The CBE explained that total facilitations directed to the government amounted to EGP 437.642bn by the end of April 2018, of which about EGP 217.979bn were in local currency, equivalent to about EGP 219.663bn in foreign currencies. Total non-government facilitations amounted to EGP 1.147tn, of which EGP 825.006bn was in local currency, and an equivalent of EGP 322.619bn in foreign currency. According to the CBE, the private business sector received 61% of the total non-governmental credit facilitations granted by banks to various economic sectors until the end of April 2018. The CBE pointed out that the industrial sector was at the forefront of non-governmental economic sectors financed by banks. It accounted for 34.7% of total facilitations, followed by the services sector, which accounted for 29%, and the trade sector by 10%. As usual, the agricultural sector received the lowest percentage of credit facilitations granted by banks to the various economic sectors. It accounted for only 1.2% of the volume of such facilitations until the end of April 2018. The CBE's figures also revealed that banks' investments in securities and treasury bills declined by EGP 3.1bn in April 2018 to reach EGP 1.659tn, compared to EGP 1.662tn at the end of March 2018. According to the CBE, the volume of outstanding balances of government treasury bills declined during the month of April 2018 to about EGP 1.192tn, compared to EGP 1.212tn in March 2018, a decrease of EGP 20bn. The banks are the main sectors investing in government debt instruments. Since 2004, the government has been offering treasury bills and bonds in the local market through 15 banks that participate in a system called "main dealers". These banks re-issue part of these bills and bonds to their individual customers and domestic and foreign institutions. Public sector banks' investments in treasury bills amounted to EGP 338.3bn, private sector banks EGP 276.3bn, foreign branches' banks EGP 35.388bn, and specialised banks EGP 12.309bn. On the other hand, the CBE disclosed that net foreign assets of banks increased by the end of April 2018 to reach EGP 369bn, compared to EGP 327.9bn in March, an increase of EGP 43bn. Banks' net foreign assets increased by EGP 113.7bn in the first quarter of this year to EGP 327.9bn at the end of March, compared to EGP 214.14bn at the end of December. The CBE explained that net foreign assets rose to EGP 286.490bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 255.1bn at the end of March, an increase of about EGP 31bn. Net assets of banks increased to EGP 82.5bn at the end of April, compared to EGP 72.8bn at the end of March. “The financial centre of banks recorded a noticeable increase in April 2018, reaching about EGP 5.235tn, compared to EGP 5.109tn at the end of March 2018, an increase of EGP 126bn,” the CBE said. The CBE explained that banks increased their capital during the month of April 2018 by about EGP 6.463bn to reach EGP 148.755bn, compared to EGP 142.292bn by the end of March 2018. Banks cut their reserves by EGP 5.841bn to reach EGP 216.974bn by the end of April 2018, compared to EGP 222.815bn by the end of March. The allocations of doubtful debts also decreased by EGP 230m to EGP 114.093bn at the end of April 2018, compared to EGP 114.296bn at the end of March. “The branches of the Egyptian banking sector rose to 4,118 branches at the end of March 2018, compared to 4,093 branches at the end of December 2017," according to the CBE. The Egyptian market has about 38 banks divided between public sector banks, private banks, and foreign bank branches. The CBE pointed out that the number of branches of village banks reached 1,017, and the banking density reached about 23,100 people for each banking unit. The Agricultural Bank of Egypt has the largest number of branches, with a network of about 1,210 branches, followed by Banque Misr with a network of over 605 branches.
