Mohamed El Etreby, Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), said that the bank’s Asset and Liability Committee (ALCO) had decided to increase the interest rate on its three-year Platinum Certificates to 17.75%, payable monthly, up from 17.25%, while introducing a new quarterly payment option with an annual return of 17.85%. El Etreby added that the bank has also launched a new three-year variable-rate certificate offering an annual return of 19.50%, payable monthly. The return will be calculated based on the Central Bank of Egypt’s overnight deposit rate plus 0.50 percentage points, with a guaranteed minimum return of 17%. In a similar move, Banque Misr decided to raise the return on its three-year Qimma fixed-rate savings certificate to 17.75% annually, payable monthly, compared with 17.25% previously. It has also introduced a quarterly payment option offering an annual return of 17.85%. The bank also announced the launch of a new range of variable-rate savings certificates with different maturities and competitive returns aligned with market developments, as part of its commitment to offering savings products that meet the needs of different customer segments. The bank said the return on its variable-rate certificates currently reaches 19.25% per annum, calculated based on the Central Bank of Egypt’s overnight deposit rate plus 0.25 percentage points. The new products include a three-year variable-rate certificate with monthly interest payments and a minimum annual return of 17.50%, a four-year variable-rate certificate with a minimum annual return of 16.75%, and a five-year variable-rate certificate with a minimum annual return of 16.25%. The bank also offers a three-year certificate with a compounded annual return of 17.75%, credited semi-annually and paid at maturity, providing a cumulative return of 66.56%. In addition, Banque Misr offers a three-year variable-rate certificate linked to CONIA + 0.25%, where CONIA is the average overnight interest rate for interbank Egyptian pound transactions published by the Central Bank of Egypt. Based on the closing figures for May 2026, the average return on the certificate stood at 19.96%. Certificate denominations start from EGP 1,000 and multiples thereof, except for the three-year CONIA-linked certificate, which starts from EGP 500 and multiples thereof. The certificates are available to individual customers, with the investment period commencing on the working day following the purchase date. Banque Misr also allows certificate holders to borrow against their certificates or obtain credit cards secured by them. In addition, certificates may be redeemed after six months from the date of issuance, subject to the applicable terms and conditions. What is behind the decision? Mohamed Abdel Aal, a prominent banking expert, said that the decision by the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr to increase returns on some savings certificates has prompted widespread discussion within banking and economic circles, particularly ahead of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for 9 July, which is being closely watched for indications of the future direction of interest rates. He said that while some observers quickly interpreted the move as reflecting banks’ need for liquidity or signalling an imminent shift in monetary policy, a deeper reading suggests that the picture is considerably more complex. Mohamed Abdel Aal According to Abdel Aal, the Egyptian banking sector does not appear to be facing exceptional liquidity pressures that would necessitate such a move. Nor should the decision be regarded as a surprise to the market, as the two banks had previously reduced returns on some savings products at the beginning of the monetary easing cycle before introducing successive adjustments in line with market developments, inflation expectations, interest rate trends and competition for deposits. “What we are seeing today does not represent a sudden change in direction,” he said. “Rather, it reflects a flexible and dynamic policy for managing liquidity and the deposit structure within the two largest banks in the market.” He acknowledged that competition for savings is one factor influencing the decision, particularly as banks seek to preserve their market shares and attract more long-term deposits. However, he argued that this factor alone is insufficient to explain the move. The more important aspect, he said, relates to the nature of the certificates themselves. These savings instruments represent one of the most stable sources of funding for banks, while changes to the pricing of long-term certificates cannot be made unilaterally but require prior approval from the Central Bank, meaning that such moves take place within a known and approved regulatory framework. Abdel Aal explained that these certificates are particularly important from a liquidity management perspective because they provide banks with stable, long-term funding that can be relied upon to finance lending and investment activities. Their value to banks therefore extends beyond the cost of the interest paid on them. “This leads to a deeper interpretation of the decision,” he said, “namely the desire to preserve the attractiveness of saving in Egyptian pounds and attract additional long-term liquidity, without having to raise benchmark interest rates across the economy.” Banque Misr Abdel Aal noted that the Central Bank is currently facing a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, easing geopolitical tensions and declining pressures linked to energy prices and global shipping costs may support the continuation of the downward trend in inflation during the coming period. On the other hand, important considerations remain regarding preserving the attractiveness of pound-denominated assets, maintaining foreign portfolio investment inflows and protecting the purchasing power of household savings. “For this reason,” he continued, “a return to raising benchmark interest rates appears unlikely given expectations that inflation will continue to fall. At the same time, current conditions do not appear to support a rapid resumption of the interest rate-cutting cycle, as this could undermine the attractiveness of pound savings or affect capital inflows. This makes a decision to keep rates unchanged the most logical scenario at the present stage.” “In this context, raising returns on selected savings certificates can be viewed as a more targeted and flexible instrument than increasing official interest rates,” Abdel Aal said. “It allows banks to attract liquidity and encourage long-term savings without imposing higher borrowing costs on all borrowers across the economy.” “In other words,” he added, “this step may reflect a greater reliance on banking instruments as a complementary means of achieving certain monetary policy objectives, allowing liquidity to be managed while maintaining the attractiveness of savings without changing benchmark interest rates.” Accordingly, he argued, the decision to increase returns on some certificates should not be interpreted as conclusive evidence of what the Monetary Policy Committee will decide at its next meeting. Instead, it appears more consistent with a scenario of caution and keeping rates unchanged than with another round of interest rate cuts in the near term. “Perhaps the more important question today is not why certificate yields have increased,” Abdel Aal said, “but why the major banks chose to use savings certificates as the instrument to achieve these objectives instead of waiting for another move in official interest rates.” He concluded that this is where the real message behind the decision lies. “In my view, increasing returns on selected certificates does not reflect a liquidity crisis, nor does it signal a return to monetary tightening. Rather, it reflects an attempt to strike a careful balance between preserving the attractiveness of saving in Egyptian pounds, supporting monetary stability and managing liquidity efficiently during a period that requires considerable caution and patience.” “That is why,” he added, “the decision should not be viewed merely as an adjustment to savings rates, but as a message about how the current phase is being managed: no increase in interest rates that would weigh on growth, no rapid cuts that would undermine the attractiveness of pound savings, but rather the search for a delicate balance between supporting the economy and preserving monetary stability. It is within that balance that the latest move by the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr should be understood.”The post NBE, Banque Misr raise interest rates on savings certificates, launch new variable-yield products first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.
