National Bank of Egypt (NBE) says it has secured mortgage finances for around 12,500 homes in favour of low and middle-income citizens as part of the central bank's social housing initiative. The finances were at value of more than one billion Egyptian pounds ($112.6 million), chairman of Egypt's biggest public lender Hisham Okasha told Amwal Al Ghad on Friday. In 2014, Egypt's central bank earmarked 10 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) to finance mortgages for people on low and middle incomes, in a bid to boost the country's construction and real estate sectors. Banks will acquire the money from the central bank over a 20-year period at low prices and re-lend it to low earners at a seven percent decreasing rate of return and to middle earners at eight percent. During July and August this year, NBE provided finances of 247 million pounds for the purchase of 2,730 homes, higher by 28 percent in number and 31 percent in value for the same period last year, Okasha said.
