USD 3.1 bn extended financial repo transactions carries same collateral: The USD 3.1 bn expanded financial agreement with global banks secured as part of a repurchase (repo) transaction in 2016 carried the same collateral and came with favorable terms, CBE Sub-Governor Rami Aboul Naga said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “The funding is based on the same collateral of last year’s agreement and was concluded at favorable terms reflecting confidence in Egypt’s economic reforms,” he said. The expansion of the November 2016 agreement was made with the same consortium of banks, which included Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and J.P. Morgan Securities, the CBE said in a statement. Aboul Naga did not specify the terms of the agreement, but Finance Minister Amr El Garhy had previously stated that the discount rate was set at 30%, adding that he anticipated any extension of the agreement would see the rate drop to 25%. The expanded financial agreement follows a repayment of the original USD 2 bn loan which the CBE made on 9 November.