Hesham Ramez, the CEO of the Commercial International Bank, has been appointed as the new governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), said presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali at a press conference on Thursday. President Mohamed Morsy selected Ramez as former governor Farouk al-Oqda's successor. Ramez and Oqda were both present at the press conference. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had renewed Oqda's contract for four years in November 2011, keeping him on as governor through November 2015. He recently resigned, but denied doing so due to the record decline of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar during his tenure. Oqda also denied reports that he resigned due to the Cabinet's financial policies, stressing that the prime minister never interfered in bank matters. Oqda pointed out that the CBE itself suggested the constitutional article stipulating that its governor serve for a four year term that could only be renewed once. Oqda also said that the Egyptian pound would stabilize within a short period. Ramez agreed with that assessment, especially given that inflation is stable, he said. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
