Foreign Assets in Egypt's Banking Sector Reach USD 9.2 Billion

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced that the country’s banking sector recorded net foreign assets of USD 9.2 billion in October 2024, a slight decrease from September’s surplus of USD 10.3 billion (EGP 498.6 billion). Despite the drop, the figure represents a significant positive shift for Egypt’s banking system, which has faced fluctuations in foreign asset balances over recent months.

This surplus follows a notable recovery from earlier in the year when Egypt’s banking sector experienced a deficit. In May 2024, the sector posted a surplus of EGP 676.4 billion, a dramatic improvement from a deficit of EGP 174.385 billion in April. Total foreign assets in the banking system stood at EGP 3.584 trillion in October, slightly up from EGP 3.562 trillion in September. Meanwhile, liabilities rose compared to the previous month.

Alongside the positive foreign asset figures, the CBE also reported a significant increase in local liquidity within Egypt’s banking sector, which reached EGP 11.247 trillion in September 2024, up from EGP 8.877 trillion in December 2023. The money supply expanded to EGP 2.778 trillion from EGP 2.370 trillion, while the cash in circulation outside the banking system grew to EGP 1.163 trillion, up from EGP 1.068 trillion. Additionally, quasi-money, a category including savings and time deposits, surged to EGP 8.469 trillion from EGP 6.507 trillion over the same period.

The volume of non-governmental deposits in local currency also saw strong growth, reaching EGP 7.307 trillion in October 2024, compared to EGP 6.247 trillion in December 2023. Demand deposits in local currency increased to EGP 1.614 trillion from EGP 1.301 trillion. Among these, the private sector held EGP 907.222 billion, households EGP 600.035 billion, and the public business sector EGP 107.434 billion. Time deposits and savings certificates in local currency grew to EGP 5.693 trillion in October 2024, compared to EGP 4.946 trillion at the end of 2023.

Foreign currency deposits also saw a rise. Non-governmental foreign currency deposits reached EGP 2.776 trillion in October 2024, up from EGP 1.561 trillion in December 2023. Demand deposits in foreign currencies amounted to EGP 684.987 billion, while time deposits and savings certificates in foreign currencies totaled EGP 2.091 trillion.