No intention to privatize banks in the near future The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has set the required regulations to allow insurance companies and banks to offer bancassurance service after it was suspended in 2007, the Governor of CBE Hisham Ramez said. The regulations are expected to be announced next month, he added. On the sidelines of his meeting with journalists accompanying DoorKnock Mission headed by Gamal Muharam, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Ramez added that re-launching bancassurance services will largely boost the growth rates of insurance companies which will benefit from the geographical distribution of the banks' branches in Egypt and will also affect positively the business results of banks. The Insurance Federation of Egypt (IFE) had earlier started talks with the central bank to allow the return of bancassurance which is expected to increase the insurance sector's contribution to GNP from 1.2% to 1.6% at least in the next few years. Ramez revealed that CBE will not intervene in determining the salaries of the employees of public-sector banks as they are subject to the state's regulations and will not also intervene in any settlement conducted by banks whether with governmental or private bodies, stressing that the central bank is working for the better good of the country. He denied any plans to privatize banks in Egypt or grant new licenses, as achieving stability is the top priority in the current period to achieve sustainable development, create jobs and overcome problems facing investments.
