Central Bank of Egypt tightens oversight of bank lending to consumer finance firms
Regulation · announcedSunday 25 October 2026
The CBE issued new controls on bank financing of consumer finance companies, tightening supervision of this lending channel. Lenders are reassessing instalment and card-based consumer finance plans in response.
The rules change how banks can fund consumer finance firms and may slow growth in retail credit.
The Central Bank of Egypt has issued a circular requiring banks to obtain its prior approval before amending investment policies of affiliated investment funds where the change alters the fund's nature. The rule applies to banks operating in the domestic market and was also flagged on the CBE's own search pages.
The Central Bank of Egypt and the Financial Regulatory Authority said stress tests on the ten largest banks, about 80% of sector assets, showed low to moderate capital and liquidity risk. The tests cover macroeconomic and climate scenarios and are continuously updated.
Central Bank of Egypt data show banks reduced investments in treasury bills and securities by about EGP 482 billion in Q2 2026, to EGP 8.136 trillion. Lending and discount balances rose over the same period.
From April 2027, consumer finance companies must consult a score from the I-Score private credit bureau before approving financing, under a new Financial Regulatory Authority rule. The rule supports greater machine-driven decisions in lending, drawing on alternative data.
Fawry's subsidiary Fawry Consumer Finance received preliminary FRA approval to add factoring to its activities. It plans to offer invoice financing to MSMEs once it gets the final licence.
MIDBANK has received FRA approval to set up a digital finance company focused on small and medium enterprises. The approval is for establishment, so the company still needs to be set up and licensed.
