Egypt's ruling military council and the prime minister's cabinet are considering reinstating the Central Bank of Egypt governor and board chairman for another year, a high-level banking source said. The source said that in addition to reinstating Farouk Abdel Baky al-Okdah, the board of directors of five other banks would be reinstated for an additional three years. Amendments to the banking law, as well as the restructuring of the boards of public banks, will likely take place later this month, the source said. The changes aim to end conflicts of interest and prevent bank executives from holding more than one position, the source added. The source said Prime Minister Essam Sharaf is expected to issue a decision regarding the reinstatement of the bank's board of directors by 24 September. According to the same source, Fathy Sebei, the chairman of both the Egyptian Arab Land Bank and the Housing and Development Bank, will leave the former and retain his position at the latter. The CBE is in negotiations with a number of bank heads regarding the vacancy. No decision had been made regarding the affiliation of Cairo Bank to the Bank of Egypt or the fate of Mohamed Barakat, who currently heads both. The source said that a number of bank officials recently declined appointments to top positions. The source added that Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit Chairman Ali Ismail Shaker asked to resign from the post. Translate from the Arabic Edition
