As the El Sisi administration maneuvers to curb debt, state-owned banks pile up new loans

**#3 As the El Sisi administration maneuvers to reduce debt, state-owned banks pile up new foreign-currency loans loans: The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has signed a USD 600 mn loan agreement with the China Development Bank to “finance the working capital of NBE customers,” the bank said on Wednesday,according to Reuters. The facility is the latest in a series of large debt packages taken by NBE that include raising some USD 600 mn in a club loan of international banks and a EUR 375 mn financing agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loans come as the government is making debt control a crucial pillar of its fiscal policy, with plans in the coming weeks to adopt a strategy to limit borrowing from foreign international institutions, limit bond issuances, and give the Finance Ministry a say in loan agreements that require it to extend a guarantee.