The portfolio of securities, which includes banks' investments in shares, bonds and investment fund securities, increased by EGP 24.2bn in May 2018, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Investments in these securities from the banks in Egypt reached EGP 1.683tn during May 2018, up from EGP 1.659tn in April. In a recent report, the CBE clarified that the banks' investments in these instruments in local currency rose by approximately EGP 20bn to score EGP 1.227tn in May, up from EGP 1.207tn in April. Investments in foreign currencies also rose to the equivalent of approximately EGP 45.4bn, up from EGP 452.3bn, marking an increase of EGP 4.1bn. In the same context, the CBE said that banks increased their investments in government treasury bills during June 2018 by EGP 3bn to reach EGP 665bn, up from EGP 662bn in May 2018. The banks' holdings of treasury bills have fluctuated since the beginning of the year, amounting to EGP 645bn in January 2018, down to EGP 619bn in February, before moving up again in March to EGP 650bn. In April, holdings declined again to EGP 642bn then increased o EGP 662bn in May and EGP 665bn in June. Meanwhile, the CBE disclosed that deposits in banks increased by EGP 10.8bn in May 2018 to reach EGP 3.5362tn, up from EGP 3.5254tn in April. It added that government deposits increased to EGP 551.25bn in May, up from EGP 545.65bn in April, including EGP 432.5bn and EGP 118.7bn in foreign currencies. Non-government deposits also rose to score EGP 2.985tn in May, up from EGP 2.979tn in April. Similarly, loans across banks in Egypt rose by EGP 32.5bn in May to EGP 1.606tn, up from EGP 1.574tn in April. The government received EGP 452.427bn of these loans, while the retail sector, including industry, trade, service, agriculture, and household, obtained EGP 1.154tn.
