Net foreign assets in Egypt banking sector up EGP 10.7bn in January: CBE

EGP 32.73bn increase in local currency deposits, foreign currency deposits rise to equivalent of about EGP 649.65bn

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced that the net foreign assets of the local banking sector increased by the equivalent of about EGP 10.714bn during January 2021.
The rise ensured it reached the equivalent of about EGP 281.694bn, compared to the equivalent of about EGP 270.98bn during December 2020.
In a recent report, the CBE said the increase in net foreign assets was driven by the difference between the jump in the volume of foreign assets, equivalent to about EGP 12.613bn, during January 2021, to reach the equivalent of about EGP 973.231bn, compared to the equivalent of about EGP 960.618bn in December 2020.
The volume of foreign liabilities also increased by the equivalent of about EGP 1.899bn to reach the equivalent of about EGP 691.537bn in January, compared to the equivalent of about EGP 689.638bn in the previous month.
According to the report, the volume of foreign assets at the CBE decreased during January 2021 to the equivalent of about EGP 617.574bn. This compared to the equivalent of about EGP 617.681bn in December.
Meanwhile, the volume of foreign assets with banks increased to the equivalent of about EGP 355.657bn in January 2021, compared to the equivalent of about EGP 342.937bn in December 2020.
It pointed out that the volume of foreign liabilities increased with the CBE to the equivalent of about EGP 406.022bn in January 2021, compared to the equivalent of about EGP 405.871bn in December 2020. The volume of liabilities with banks increased to the equivalent of about EGP 285.515bn compared to the equivalent of about EGP 283.767bn.
In another context, the CBE revealed an increase in the volume of local currency deposits with banks during January 2021. This saw deposits rise by the equivalent of about EGP 32.73bn to reach about EGP 3.693trn, compared to about EGP 3.660trn by the end of December 2020.
It also stated that free deposits in local currency amounted to about EGP 532.883bn by the end of January 2021, compared to about EGP 532.340bn by the end of December 2020. This reflected a decrease of about EGP 543m.