Egypt’s foreign reserves rise to $57.35 bln in September: CBE

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly affirmed the State’s commitment to developing the non-banking financial sector in its various activities given its vital role in driving the national economy, attracting investment and expanding the participation of the domestic and foreign private sectors.

The prime minister also highlighted the sector’s role in providing citizens with safe investment avenues under the full supervision of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), particularly through the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and licensed investment funds.Madbouly made the remarks during a meeting he held on Tuesday evening October 6, 2026, in the New Capital with Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) Chairman Islam Azam to follow up on developments in the non-banking financial sector and activities under the authority’s supervision.

The meeting also reviewed the latest measures being taken by the FRA, within its supervisory and regulatory mandate, to enhance the efficiency of the capital market, insurance and non-banking finance sectors, increase their contribution to the national economy and protect the rights of market participants.The prime minister further said protecting the rights of participants in the sector is a top state priority, as reflected in the regulatory framework governing its activities and the successive decisions issued by the FRA, in line with market developments and the growing number of beneficiaries of the sector’s various activities, including insurance and non-banking finance.

During the meeting, Azam reviewed the latest developments in the regulatory frameworks governing these activities, including recent decisions aimed at improving service quality, meeting citizens’ needs, enhancing supervisory performance and strengthening the ability of the FRA and companies operating in the sector to detect, address and curb negative practices at an early stage.All measures, he said, would contribute to resolving customers’ complaints more quickly, raising their awareness of their rights and protecting their assets.

Azam also highlighted recent FRA decisions and their objectives, including strengthening safeguards for responsible financing, reducing defaults and fraud, combating impersonation and addressing various forms of money laundering.The measures include requiring financing entities to use one-time passwords (OTPs) to strengthen customer identity verification, ensure that customers are aware of the procedures and have agreed to the terms and conditions, and confirm their consent when financing is disbursed and used.

They also include requiring real-time connectivity with the credit information company and obliging consumer finance companies to obtain credit assessments based on customers’ behavioral analysis, while providing the necessary technological infrastructure in preparation for linking their databases with the FRA’s database.Azam explained that the full integration currently being organized and implemented between the FRA and all companies under its supervision would enable the FRA to access real-time and daily data from various markets and facilitate advanced analysis using artificial intelligence technologies.

Some of the resulting analysis will be made available to the market to help companies make more efficient decisions and improve the quality of insurance and financing products in line with customers’ actual needs, he added.In this regard, the FRA chairman said that providing customers with all information related to insurance and financing products and other investment vehicles, while informing them of their rights and obligations, constitutes a fundamental pillar of non-banking financial activities.

Other key pillars include data protection and effective mechanisms for complaints and grievances, he said, noting that these measures help assess the actual impact of financial services on customers’ lives and economic activities.

Azam also pointed to a number of recently issued decisions and instructions aimed at preventing misleading information and confusion between different savings and investment products and vehicles, as well as prohibiting the use of marketing statements or practices that could give customers inaccurate information.He added that the FRA’s implementation of financial inclusion targets under Egypt Vision 2030 is based on the need to protect and empower the most vulnerable groups.

Accordingly, the Authority is seeking to strike a careful balance between two complementary objectives: promoting the growth of financial activities by expanding access to financing and fostering innovation and competition, and protecting market participants to ensure that the desired growth is achieved in a responsible and sustainable manner without exposing customers to risks or burdens beyond their capacity.The meeting also addressed the FRA’s efforts to enhance the efficiency of companies and broaden the scope of risk management beyond credit risk to include market and operational risks.

Azam noted that Basel III standards are set to be applied to the non-banking finance sector starting next January. He also referred to a recently issued decision establishing controls for underwriting and pricing credit and guarantee insurance policies, including clear standards and stringent controls for developing reinsurance and risk-management policies.

The meeting further reviewed developments presenting promising investment opportunities, as well as the latest and upcoming offerings on the Egyptian Exchange, particularly those involving state-owned companies targeted for listing under the State Ownership Policy Document.It also highlighted the FRA’s role in building the capacities of employees of these companies and training them on the practical requirements for moving from temporary to permanent listing, including corporate governance, disclosure and transparency requirements.Azam also referred to ongoing preparations to launch short selling, stressing the importance of making the mechanism available alongside margin trading to improve price discovery, boost trading activity and attract new categories of investors, particularly foreign and young investors.

He noted that this development complements the launch of the financial derivatives market last March and the recent regulation of hedge fund activities, representing an integrated path toward modernizing the capital market under rules that ensure transparency and sound governance while protecting the rights of all parties.It is worth noting that the number of newly registered investors on the Egyptian Exchange exceeded 171,000 by the end of the second quarter of the current year, while trading values surpassed LE 6.4 trillion, an increase of approximately 78.3 percent compared with the second quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, investment funds recorded a 14.7-percent increase in net asset value by the end of the second quarter of the current year, reaching LE 471 billion across 224 funds.The number of fund units rose to 44 billion, with individuals accounting for 75 percent of the total, indicating growing confidence in investment funds as one of the key investment instruments in Egypt in recent months.

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