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CBE will not raise loan interests for SMEs - Amer

CBE will not raise loan interests for SMEs - Amer
The Central Bank of Egypt - (Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters)

Cairo - Mubasher: The governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said that interest levels for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loans will remain unchanged, as part of the presidential initiative to finance small businesses.

Tarek Amer added in a press conference on Tuesday that a new initiative was launched to support small businesses in collaboration with 750 non-governmental organizations (NGO) from the civil society.

In March, Amer said that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loan portfolio in Egypt has amounted to EGP 101 billion, adding that the CBE aims at doubling SMEs financing to exceed EGP 400 billion in the upcoming period.

The Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) recently decided, contrary to expectations, to raise interest rates by 200 basis points, increasing overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the main operation rate to 16.75%, 17.75%, and 17.25%, respectively.

The discount rate was also raised by 200 basis points to 17.25%.