CBE offers new debt relief initiative for individual borrowers: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Monday launched a new debt relief initiative for individuals at risk of default that will waive marginal interest on debt under EGP 1 mn, according to an official statement. Eligible customers will have to make a 50% payment of the original debt in cash or in-kind and arrange a payment plan with the creditor bank. The customers will have their names removed from the CBE and i-Score’s blacklist and will restrictions on their assets lifted.

The initiative comes one day after the CBE moved to enact an emergency 300 bps rate cut and extended the tenor of all bank loans to businesses for a period of six months. The extension applies whether the facility is held by an SME, a large corporation, or an individual borrower, CBE Governor Tarek Amer said.