Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) seeks to renew its initiative to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for another four years, according to governor Tarek Amer. Speaking to DMC, Amer added that CBE is currently studying the SMEs porfolio percentage required from the banks which are working in the local market, noting that the banks have pumped 160 billion pounds into 86,000 projects among the initiative. In 2016, the CBE announced an initiative to finance SMEs. Under the initiative, 20 per cent of bank loans should be allocated to SMEs within four years. The banks were set to offer around 200 billion pounds to finance 350,000 companies and thus create job opportunities for more than four million people. The banks participating in the four-year program were able to deduct the loans from their required reserves at the CBE. He also noted that the Egyptian economy had stabilized and that the country has reached safety. Amer said that the surge in the USD against the pound after the float was expected, but it has since cooled down and the EGP is rising slowly against the greenback.
