There is no intention to sell the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC), Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza said describing reports about privatizing it as merely "nonsense". Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Abaza said: "We are not planning to sell even 1% of the bank's shares". The restructuring of the bank does not mean getting rid of its staff, the minister said, stressing that no single worker would be laid off. "We are only studying not to appoint any new workers." There is no relation between the ministry and the bank. According to the law regulating the Bank's work, the Minister of Agriculture is responsible for coordinating with the Bank, but he has no role in the daily management, while the bank has to follow the State's policy aimed at serving agriculture. "The plan to restructure the bank, which will last for three years till December 31, 2010 does not mean privatization," the minister told Al-Masry Al-Youm. He added that a study is underway for separating business from banking by referring business to the Egyptian Company for Agricultural Development, which is completely owned, supervised and controlled by the bank. The goal, said the minister, is to ensure that it will play its role within the framework of the general strategy of the bank and the Ministry of Agriculture.
