CBE amends what banks can do with excess foreign currency positions, says a quarter can be used for profit repatriation

Profit repatriation window opens a bit wider for foreign companies in Egypt: The Central Bank of Egypt has amended regulations on how banks can use their excess foreign currency balances, Al Mal reports. Banks can now use 50% of their excess currency to finance non-essential demand, 25% can be reinjected into the interbank market, and the remaining 25% can now be used to support the repatriation of profits by foreign companies. Prior to the directive, the central bank was allowing banks to use 50% of their excess currency to finance non-essential imports and inject the other half into the interbank market. A banker told Al Mal that banks never blocked profit repatriation, but the new directive allows for a larger percentage of a bank’s funds to be used for that purpose.