Egypt could see its first bank specialising in loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within six years, Tariq Amer, chairperson of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), said in an exclusive interview with Ahram Online.

The bank would have capital of LE50 billion ($8.3 billion), he added.

The bank will be part of the NBE and only deal with SMEs developing projects in Egypt.

“The NBE's SME portfolio was around LE8.6 billion as of 2010/11, with a delinquency rate of 0.5 per cent,” Amer told Ahram Online.

China Development Bank recently made a $200 million commercial loan to the National Bank of Egypt to support SMEs.

In August the World Bank approved a $200 million loan to fund Egyptian SMEs through the Social Development Fund.

In June the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB) put forward a plan to identify major obstacles faced by SMEs and make recommendations to remove such obstacles.

To view the interview please click here.