National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the country's largest state bank, says it has received around 360 billion Egyptian pounds ($20.4 billion) from its high-yield certificates of deposit in almost one year. The Egyptian bank has managed to attract one million clients through its CDs released in late 2016, deputy chairman Yehia Aboul Fotouh told a conference in Cairo on Monday. NBE launched 18-month certificates of deposit at 20 percent and three-year certificates of deposit at 16 percent, when the central bank floated the pound in early November 2016. The CDs were part of efforts to stabilise the Egyptian pound after the central bank ditched its U.S. dollar peg and raised benchmark interest rates by 300 basis points to try to unlock inflows and curtail the currency black market. "The bank accounts rose to 10 million," Aboul Fotouh said, adding that banks in Egypt still have several challenges to boost financial inclusion and reach more citizens in remote areas.
