The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) issued on Tuesday a decree suspending black lists (I-Score) for 8,000 enterprises and negative lists for 100,000 individual clients.

It also suspended the debarments imposed on irregular clients who do not pay their credits in the due times, lifting restrictions on their dealings with the banking system.

The decree also reduced the disclosure periods for these clients to between six months and one year, instead of the previous periods which could reach 10 years. This will benefit more than 4,000 enterprises and 220,000 individuals.

According to the decree, sent to Ahram Online, the action was taken to alleviate the burdens on clients during the COVID-19 outbreak, especially irregular clients, as part of a number of measures the CBE has taken to mitigate the outbreak’s impact on the national economy.

The measures are also in line with procedures by the state aimed at keeping factories and enterprises operational to ensure that the production process continues and to attain the anticipated growth rates.

Moreover, the CBE has approved giving banks a period of three months to cleanse the I-Score databases in the credit registration system.

The CBE asserted that it will not hesitate to take actions and initiatives that support the national economy, enhance confidence in the banking system, and to continue the economic reform program in light of the current external and internal challenges.