Egyptian Banks Offer Savings Certificates with 27% Return

The two largest state-run banks in Egypt decided to offer savings certificates with an annual return of 23.5%, disbursed monthly, and up to 27% annually, to absorb liquidity from the market after the expiration of the terms of the certificates that were offered during the past year.

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) will offer a certificate with an interest rate of 23.5% paid monthly and 27% paid annually for a year starting tomorrow.

In a parallel context, the Banque Misr announced that it decided to reissue the savings pool “Talaat Harb” certificate, for one year, with a fixed rate of return at 27% annually, which is disbursed at the end of the certificate’s term.

The bank explained in its statement issued today that the interest can be disbursed monthly with a return of 23.5% annually.

The certificate denominations start from 1000 pounds and its multiples for Egyptians and foreigners, and the period is calculated starting from the next business day of purchase.

This comes after the two banks offered early last year a savings certificate with a return of 25%.

The move of the two largest government banks in Egypt coincides with the expiration of the certificates they issued last year, to absorb the cash resulting from the monetization of last year’s certificates.

At the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 2023, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept interest rates unchanged at their highest levels for the third time in a row, setting the overnight deposit and lending rates, and the bank’s main operation rate at levels of 19.25%, 20.25%, and 19.75%, respectively. The credit and discount rates were also maintained at 19.75%.