The total amount of banks' investments, operating in the local market in the government's treasury bills (T-Bills), amounted to approximately EGP 749.117bn at the end of October 2018. This number went up from EGP 738.644bn in September 2018, an EGP 10.5bn increase, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). In a recent report, the CBE said that the increase was fuelled by public banks pumping more investments into T-Bills, reaching EGP 386.331bn at the end of October, up from EGP 380.405bn in September. Foreign banks' investments increased to EGP 46.302bn, against EGP 35.438bn, while specialised banks' investments reached EGP 14.12bn, up from EGP 13.65bn. In contrast, private sector banks' investments in credit declined to EGP 302.42bn by the end of October, in comparison to EGP 309.16bn at the end of September. According to the CBE, the outstanding balance of T-Bills at the end of October 2018 reached EGP 1.316tn, against EGP 1.305tn at the end of September, up by EGP 11bn. Additionally, the CBE noted that foreigners' investments in T-Bills declined for the seventh month in a row, down by $1.3bn in October 2018. According to the CBE, foreign customers' investments in T-Bills reached EGP 210.213bn at the end of October or $11.707bn, down from EGP 234.519bn or $13.061bn, at the end of September. Foreign investments in Egyptian T-Bills have been declining since April 2018, with the beginning of the emerging market (EM) crisis, which reduced interest traders' confidence in EM economies, including Egypt. Since the start of the decline, the value of the investments withdrawn by foreigners from the T-bills reached $9.7bn, by the end of October 2018. On another matter, the CBE disclosed the rise in the bank's securities portfolio to EGP 1.755tn at the end of September 2018, against EGP 1.750tn at the end of August 2018, up by EGP 5bn. The CBE noted that securities in local currency increased by EGP 7bn to EGP 1.301tn at the end of September, compared to EGP 1.294tn at the end of August, while securities in foreign currency decreased by about EGP 2bn to EGP 454bn in September, against EGP 256bn in August.
