The newly released 25% certificates of deposit pulled in close to EGP 100 billion by Friday, a mere 48 hours since its launch.

Issued by two state-run banks, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) saw proceeds reaching EGP 66 billion from the certificates, while Banque Misr reached around EGP 31 billion, revealed NBE Vice Chairman Yahia Abou El-Fotouh on Friday.

News outlet Al Arabiya reported that both banks have secured loans worth $705 million from global lenders to meet local demand for hard currency, citing unnamed sources in the banking industry.

According to El-Fotouh, 50% of proceeds were fresh money and not from other certificates, with some people exchanging US dollars to open new certificates. More than 70% were created through alternative channels such as Al-Ahly Net, Al-Ahly Mobile, and the Call Center.

Multiple branches were open on Friday and Sunday (official bank holidays) to process requests to reduce congestion on weekdays. Sunday was the national holiday to mark Coptic Christmas.

On Wednesday, the two banks issued new one-year maturity saving certificates with a 25 percent yield after one year, the highest yield on record, in an aim to contain rising inflation by encouraging savings.

Considering the cost of these certificates on the banks, El-Fotouh pointed out that the two banks’ roles differ from other banks due to their role in Egypt’s monetary policies in the framework of the economic measures.

“It is possible that it will have a high cost, but we have the ability to achieve revenues in other ways and items; both banks will handle the cost for a certain period to support the Egyptian economy,” he said.