Egypt’s Central Bank Absorbs 537 Billion Pounds in Its Weekly Deposit Tender at 19.50 Percent
The Central Bank of Egypt accepted 536,950 million pounds of bank deposits at its 7 day fixed rate tender on Tuesday, taking all 10 bids submitted at a rate of 19.50 percent, according to the bank’s auction results. The deposits mature on 29 September, and the allotment rate was 100.00 percent, so every pound offered was taken.
Accepted above the redeemed amount
The same announcement carried a redeemed amount of 499,840 million pounds, 37,110 million pounds below the amount accepted on Tuesday, or 7.4 percent of the redeemed amount, on our calculation. At 19.50 percent for 7 days, the accepted amount carries about 2.01 billion pounds of interest for the week, on our calculation on a 365 day basis.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Tenor | 7 days, maturing 29 September |
| Announced deposits amount | 0mn pounds, as printed |
| Fixed rate | 19.50% |
| Bids offered | 536,950mn pounds, 10 bids |
| Bids accepted | 536,950mn pounds, 10 bids |
| Allotment rate | 100.00% |
| Amount redeemed | 499,840mn pounds |
Central Bank of Egypt auction results, 22 September 2026. Changes and the interest figure are on our calculation.
The rate is the policy rate
The 19.50 percent paid on the tender is the main operation rate, which has been unchanged since 15 February 2026, alongside 19.00 percent on the overnight deposit and 20.00 percent on overnight lending. Against urban headline inflation of 14.5 percent in August, reported by The Edge on 20 September, the tender rate is 5.0 points above inflation, on our calculation, and the overnight deposit rate 4.5 points above it.
Why it matters: the weekly tender is where the central bank takes deposits from banks at a fixed rate, and the amount accepted is what banks chose to place at that rate. The amount accepted ran above the redeemed amount printed in the same announcement, at 19.50 percent, the main operation rate, which is 5.0 points above the latest inflation reading.
Outlook: the Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, and the tender rate has been set at the main operation rate of 19.50 percent, so a change on Thursday would be read in next week’s auction. The next tender, on 29 September, will show the next accepted amount against this week’s 536,950 million pounds.
Sources: Central Bank of Egypt, The Edge.
