The total volume of foreign trade operations financed by banks operating in the domestic market during the period from 3 November 2016 to 25 May 2017 amounted to $35bn, according to Tarek Fayed, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). In a statement on Wednesday, Fayed said that banks had paid letters of credit and collection documents worth $25bn, next to opening new letters of credit worth $10bn. Imported operations, financed by banks since the flotation, have so far included basic commodities and non-essential goods, with production inputs, food commodities, and medicines at the top of the list of goods financed by banks. Akef El Maghraby, vice chairperson of Banque Misr, said that the bank financed imports of $5bn since the flotation in November. CBE Governor Tarek Amer said in previous remarks last week that banks collected $25bn from clients from the flotation of the pound on 3 November 2016 until now.

Source: Daily News Egypt May 31, 2017 15:22 UTC