CBE launches EGP 16.8 bn debt relief program: The central bank has launched a sweeping debt relief initiative that could forgive some EGP 16.8 bn worth of interest payments on non-performing loans held by state-owned banks, according to a CBE statement (pdf) issued on Wednesday. The program will help around 3,500 business with assets less than EGP 10 mn, as welll as some 337k individual borrowers, who have taken out loans from nine state banks, including the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and the United Bank, the CBE said. Anyone looking to have interest forgiven has until the end of this year to pay down the principal on the loan that was owed as of December 2017. In return, state banks will drop all outstanding lawsuits, restore any collateral provided by borrowers, and will have domestic credit reporting agency iScore scrub the debtor’s name from its black list. The statement notes that business targeted by the initiative will see a total of EGP 12 bn in relief, while individual borrowers will see some EGP 4.8 bn.