Mortgages in Egypt can now make up 10% of commercial bank portfolios

REGULATION WATCH- Central bank raises ceiling on mortgages as a percentage of bank loan books: Mortgages can now make up 10% of commercial banks’ lending portfolios, up from 5% previously, according to a circular issued by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) earlier this week. The change comes as the CBE is finalizing a program that will give middle-income homebuyers access to subsidized mortgages on houses valued at up to EGP 2.25 mn ahead of launching the program in March, we noted earlier this month. The EGP 50 bn program was announced in December, and is a continuation of a previous CBE initiative that ran from 2014 until January 2019.