Term: His second four-year term began in December 2007. Key Facts: - Tighter oversight of lending by Egypt's once-fragile banking sector and improved management of exchange rate policy have earned US-trained banker Okdah a reputation as a cautious and steady hand. He pushed for the sale of government stakes in most joint-venture banks and stabilised the Egyptian pound at a floating price that better reflects supply and demand. Forex traders say the central bank still intervenes discreetly to keep the pound at a level that encourages exports but limits inflation from imports. - The central bank still takes a back seat to Egypt's president and his advisers on most major decisions such as the exchange rate. Okdah keeps a low profile, he avoids public discussion of currency movements and the interest rate outlook, and often leaves statements to his deputy Hisham Ramez Abdel Hafez, who denied this month that the bank intervened to help the pound recover from a five-year low against the dollar. - Okdah introduced a core inflation index in 2007 that added more clarity to interest rate policy and spearheaded the creation of a credit monitoring agency. He oversaw the development of an interbank foreign exchange market, helping eliminate the black currency market. During his time in office, Egypt's net foreign reserves have surged to around $35 billion from about $14 billion. - Government reformers privately voice frustration that the bank is stalling on reforms to bring more competition to Egypt's capital market such as derivative trading and short selling of securities. Plans by the ministries of finance and investment to stimulate the illiquid secondary bond market by breaking a monopoly of local banks as market makers is awaiting a set of regulations from the central bank before it can launch. - Okdah previously ran state-owned National Bank of Egypt, where he tackled a clean-up of bad debts, after working as Middle East manager at Bank of New York. He taught accounting and finance at the University of Pennsylvania from 1978 to 1982. He holds a Bachelor's degree in commerce accounting from the University of Cairo, two Masters degrees and a doctorate. - He was made head of the central bank in December 2003 after his predecessor Mahmoud Abul-Eyoun oversaw a trouble-free flotation of the pound during his two years in the job. Okdah's second four-year term was given by presidential decree in 2007.
