The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has financed import operations worth $4.3bn since the decision to float the Egyptian pound on 3 November 2016 until 18 January 2017, according to NBE vice president Yehia Abu ElFotouh.

Abu ElFotouh told Daily News Egypt that the bank provided the public sector with about $2bn to finance import operations, while the bank opened letters of credit and collection worth about $2.3bn to finance private sector imports.

He noted that the amount of US dollars collected from clients at the bank since the flotation until now amounted to $2.2bn. This volume is expected to increase significantly in the coming period in light of the recovery of tourism and direct and indirect foreign investments, as well as Egyptian remittances, according to Abu ElFotouh.

On the other hand, he revealed that savings certificates, which were introduced after the flotation with an interest rate of 16-20%, and category B investment certificates attracted almost EGP 182bn, noting that these certificates have a high demand from customers.

Abu ElFotouh said that the NBE has almost completed the settlement of non-performing debts worth EGP 300m with a steel factory, pointing out that such a settlement is one of the largest settlements by the bank during the last period. Its importance comes from the fact that the client had these debt problems for nearly 15 years, which is considered an achievement for the bank.

He added that the bank has settled several non-performing debts worth EGP 350m during the first half of the current fiscal year (FY) which ended in December 2016, pointing out that the non-performing debt portfolio increased significantly after the flotation of the pound.