Circular dated December 17, 2018 regarding extending the work period for the tourism sector support initiative and the retail loans initiative for workers in the tourism sector until the end of 2019

Dear Mr. / Board of Directors Chairman,

Greetings,

With reference to the Tourism Sector Support Initiative issued on February 23, 2016, and the Retail Loans for Tourism Sector Workers Initiative issued on December 7, 2015, which were extended to the end of December 2018 by the periodic letter issued on December 28, 2017, and considering the importance of foreign currency revenues from tourism as one of the pillars of the economy, and in light of the continued impact on the sector and its workers, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt, in its meeting held on December 13, 2018, has approved the following decision:

1. Extend the validity period of the Tourism Sector Support Initiative for an additional year to end in December 2019. During this period, any requests for deferral of bank obligations up to a maximum limit of 3 years will be accepted, with confirmation of the following:

   • The parameters included in the initiative are guiding parameters. Banks shall study each case individually and make the appropriate decision regarding it.
   • The continuation of the remaining conditions of the initiative as they are, without modification, in matters not explicitly addressed.

2. Extend the validity period of the Retail Loans Initiative for Tourism Sector Workers for one year to end at the end of 2019. During this period, banks are allowed the possibility of deferring obligations of loan customers for 1 consumer purposes and personal housing real estate loans for an additional 6 months from their due date. This applies only to regular customers in the tourism sector as of September 30, 2018, without calculating late interest for that period. The remaining provisions of the initiative continue to apply.

3. Not prejudice existing provisions, taking into account the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 9) from the application date of January 1, 2019, for banks whose annual financial statements end in December, and from July 1, 2019, for banks whose financial statements end in June.

This, and to facilitate matters for these customers who previously benefited from the Retail Loans Initiative for Tourism Sector Workers since its issuance on December 7, 2015, it is permitted to defer obligations.

Please accept our highest respect.

Gamal Nagm