Egypt - The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is discussing with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) offering new banking products to the local market, EBRD’s Vice President for Banking, Alain Pilloux, said.

“We have invested in our 13 partner banks in Egypt which we offer them diversified packages in order to save energy, finance women’s businesses, focus on youth, and others. All of these banking products are important for the country,” he noted.

The EBRD’s banking cooperation with Egypt will continue and expand over new banking products for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and FinTech, Pilloux asserted, adding that bank lending represents about 25% of the EBRD’s portfolio in Egypt.

Daily News Egypt interviewed Pilloux during his recent visit to Egypt, in the presence of Janet Heckman, the EBRD’s managing director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, along with Khalid Hamza, the newly appointed deputy head of the EBRD’s Egypt office, the transcript for which is below, lightly edited for clarity:

What was your recent visit to Egypt?

I had very fruitful meetings during my recent four-day visit to Egypt, which took place in early July. I had the opportunity to meet with Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

I also discussed expanding our cooperation with several ministers, including Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr; Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker; and Minister of Public Enterprise Sector, Hisham Tawfik.

I met with the Governor of CBE, Tarek Amer, as well as representatives of several banks operating in Egypt and the private sector.