Central Bank of Egypt does not intend to extend its EGP 16.8 bn debt relief program

The CBE does not intend to extend its EGP 16.8 bn debt relief program, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the month, three banking sources said, according to Masrawy. The central bank had launched in June the initiative to forgive EGP 16.8 bn-worth of interest payments on non-performing loans held by nine state-owned banks. The program was expected to help around 3,500 businesses with assets less than EGP 10 mn, as well as some 337k individual borrowers, but the banking sources say that the initiative has not proven popular. The Federation of Egyptian Industries had expressed reservations about the relief program.