Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) announced on Monday the issuance of a certificate of deposit (CD) to be sold in US dollars and then converted to Egyptian pounds, according to Mohamed El-Etreby, the chairman of Banque Misr.
The CDs will have a maturity date of three years and will accrue interest at a rate of 15% annually. Accrued interest will be paid to certificate holders in three-month increments.
The NBE and Banque Misr will issue the CDs beginning on Monday for a period of 60 days, according to El-Etreby.
He contended that these certificates will not affect the CDs that were put forward last Thursday. These certificates were offered with maturity dates of three and five years at a yield of 4.25% and 5.25% respectively.
El-Etreby claimed that the new CDs will attract large amounts of foreign currency, either in dollars—through certificates offered to Egyptians inside or outside the country—or by Egyptian nations who have purchased CDs in US dollars that will then be converted into Egyptian pounds.
El-Etreby alleged that the US dollar price is same in the formal and informal markets after the increase of the US currency in banks to EGP 8.95 per US dollar.
