Steering the Ship

Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer was named Central Bank Governor of the Year for Middle East and North Africa by GlobalMarkets; the newspaper of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank announced late last month.

The choice came as Amer was the architect the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program for Egypt, which secured a $12 billion loan for the country, in addition to leading Egypt’s exchange rate reform, GlobalMarkets said in a note.

“Amer played a pivotal role in putting the economy on a sustainable path and restoring the confidence of international investors,” the newspaper said, adding that Amer was committed to pursuing a firm monetary policy, timely communication with the market and macroprudential regulation.

Appointed as head of the top banking institution in Egypt, Amer, along with Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy, led negotiations for the IMF loan, which has been in the works for several years, and was seen as a vital lifeline for Egypt in recovering investor confidence.
A loan was negotiated between the IMF and the Egyptian government in August 2016, as Egypt drafted an economic reform program that included floating the value of the local currency from LE 8.88 per $1, to a current level of LE 17.68.

Amer took over the CBE in November 2015, a time when Egypt’s exchange rate was at its most challenging stage as the difference between the official and unofficial exchange rate widened, and the black market flourished. Aiming to control the fiscal challenges, most prominently a shortage in the foreign currency reserves, Amer issued new regulations to limit imports and conserve international reserves.

Over 22 months in office, Egypt’s foreign reserves soared from $16.4 billion to a current level of $36.1 billion. Amer also launched a small and medium enterprises (SMEs) initiative to allocate LE 200 billion over four years with concessional terms, where LE 110 billion had already been lent out.

“There is an improvement in the performance of the CBE in mitigating Egypt’s fiscal challenges,” head of Sarie El-Din & Partners law firm Hany Sarie El-Din told Business Today Egypt.

Amer’s decision succeeded in shaping monetary policy, Sarie El-Din said, adding: “Even raising the interest rates for two consecutive times, it was a decision that negatively affects the industrial sector, but also it is the CBE’s responsibility to fight inflation, and the interest rates is the available tool to achieve that,” he said.

The central bank governor is scheduled to receive the award in the ceremony that will be held October 14 in Washington, D.C.

An official source at the CBE told Business Today Egypt that this choice will increase confidence in the Egyptian economy, and will support Egypt’s profile during the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in mid-October. “It will help in attracting targeted $10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI),” he said.

An alumnus of the AUC School of Business, Amer has recorded a strong track of achievement during serving in the banking sector.

Amer, who has a bachelor’s degree in economics and management, was previously a deputy governor of CBE.

Before that, he was the chairman of Egypt’s largest state-owned bank the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) from 2008 to 2013. During that period, NBE’s balance sheet hiked LE 170 billion in five years. In 2012, the bank’s net profit recorded LE 300 million.

Amer also held several positions in other banks such as Banque Misr, Citibank, Egyptian American Bank, Bank of America and Bank of Credit and Commerce. Regionally, he worked as a general manager of banks in Bahrain and Kuwait.