CIB denies halting purchases of government securities

Bassem Abo Alabass, Monday 14 Nov 2011

We will continue to participate in all auctions of government securities, CIB chairman tells Ahram Online

CIB
Egyptians line up infront of an ATM machine in Cairo, Egypt (Photo: AP)

CIB has issued a statement denying a news article that claimed the bank had decided to stop buying government securities.

An article titled ‘Egypt's CIB To Halt Purchases Of Government Securities’ was published on 13 November in Zawya Dow Jones.

"We have not decided to refrain from buying government securities and will continue to participate in all auctions," CIB chairman Hesham Ezz El-Arab told Ahram Online.

Ezz El-Arab would not reveal the volume of Egyptian sovereign securities in the bank's portfolio. "We will announce this later," he said.

The bank stated it has a solid process for Asset Liability Management that incorporates certain limits for investing in government securities and is always within this range. 

The total balance for government securities (bills and bonds) has been increasing over time. If there is some fluctuation in the balances, this is mainly due to liquidity management of the local currency, especially after the dollarization that took place after the revolution.

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