Central Bank of Egypt

=Overview=

According to the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) website, the Bank is an autonomous regulatory body, assuming the authorities and powers vested therein by Law No. 88 for 2003, and the Presidential Decree No. 65 for 2004.

The main objectives and functions of the CBE are as follows:-


 * Realizing price stability and ensuring the soundness of the banking system
 * Formulating and implementing the monetary, credit & banking policies
 * Issuing banknotes and determining their denominations and specifications
 * Supervising the banking sector
 * Managing the foreign currency international reserves of the country
 * Regulating the functioning of the foreign exchange market
 * Supervising the national payments' system
 * Recording and following up on Egypt's external debt (public and private)

=CBE Post 2011 Revolution=

President Mohamed Morsy appointed Hesham Ramez as the new governor for Central Bank of Egypt in January 2013. Prior to Ramez, Farouq El Oqda was the bank's governor, who is renowned for his legacy of modernizing Egypt's banking sector during his nine years tenure. Ramez has more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry and held posts in areas ranging from investment banking to risk management. He also participated as a board member for the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, the Egyptian Stock Exchange and the American Business Council.

In March 2013, Ramez stated during an event that the Central Bank's main mandate is to maintain price stability. He emphasized the independence of the Central Bank from the government, adding that the success of the business community was in his interest, as this would be reflected in the success of the banking sector.

The CBE's foreign reserves witnessed a steep drop since the onset of the January 25th revolution, dropping from US$36 billion in 2011, to US$13.5 billion in February 2013. In December 2012, the Central Bank declared that international reserves hit a critical low. The bank subsequently adopted a new system for hard currency trading, and imposed more restrictions in a bid to curb the fall in reserves.

=References=