National Bank of Egypt (NBE) targets reducing non-performing loans to EGP 6 billion in this fiscal year, down from EGP 7.4 billion in last March, said Yehia Aboul Fettouh, head of non-performing loans department at NBE. Aboul Fettouh added in an interview with Amwal Al Ghad that the Bank settled EGP 22.6 billion debts till Last March of the total value of loans which reached EGP 30 billion in 2008. NBE's non-performing loans stand at 8% of the total volume of the Bank's loans portfolio. The Bank is planning to reduce its non-performing loans to register 3%. There are about 350 faltering customers at NBE; most of which are young investors while there are about 6 old faltering customers, Aboul Fettouh noted. Amid the current turmoil that followed Egypt's 2011 revolution, NBE offered letters of guarantee of EGP 100 million for construction sector, Aboul Fettouh said, adding that highest credit facilities offered were to the tourism sector. However, he declined to say the value offered to tourism sector. NBE has approved deferring the second loan installment (=EGP 30 million) for Ramy Lakah as Ayoub Adly is paying the installments for him and the latter is working in tourism which retreated in the last period. In addition, NBE approved settling EGP 100 debt of a customer by acquiring a hotel and some chalets in Ain Sukhna as well as EGP 10 million debt of a customer working in medical industries whose debt was EGP 60 million. Aboul Fettouh added that NBE approved in principle to settle Amr Al Nasharty's EGP 310 million loan by acquiring some of his assets and one of his Sainsbury's stores in Zamalek.
