02:00 PM
Friday 12 June 2020
–
I wrote – Manal Al-Masry:
The economic repercussions of the “emerging Corona” virus affected the sales of auto loans in banks, which witnessed a decline in demand due to the absence of customers’ appetite to buy, according to bank officials told “Masrawy.”
Bankers believe that this decline was reflected in the exchange rates positively, as it reduced the demand for import and contributed to reducing the pressure on the foreign currency.
Bankers in public and private banks said that the decline in car loans in banks is linked to the re-ordering of priorities and concerns of customers due to lack of clarity about the implications and persistence of the “Corona” virus, while increasing their focus on keeping their savings in savings containers, or maintaining liquidity for use at the time of request.
The sources pointed out that the decline in car loans had a positive impact on reducing the exit of foreign currency for import, in addition to that this type of loan falls under the name of luxury and luxury goods, in contrast to the banks’ plan currently to expand in development projects such as real estate financing and small and medium projects according to For central initiatives.
Car loans benefited from the central bank’s decision, in mid-March, to postpone all banks ’credit entitlements to institutional and individual customers (including consumer loans and real estate loans for personal housing) for a period of 6 months.
The total car loans whose installments were postponed 6 months amounted to about 24.5 billion pounds at the end of last December in banks, including 966 million pounds, irregular loans, according to central bank data, obtained by “Masrawy” earlier.
Karim Souss, CEO of retail banking at the National Bank of Egypt, said that the bank’s plan does not give priority. To finance auto loans, it is currently focusing on financing the Central Bank’s initiatives for developmental projects such as low-income real estate financing, and small and medium enterprises.
The bank has cut the number of employees at car shows to promote loans, and car loans have declined since the decision to liberalize the exchange rate, because the bank has focused on financing development projects, according to Souss.
A source in Faisal Islamic Bank said that the new angelic car loans have declined by 50% since the start of the “Corona” crisis last March, due to the lack of demand among customers due to the blurring of the full picture of the continuation or scaling of the virus.
He pointed out that most customers currently prefer to keep their savings in pounds more than applying for a loan on an entertainment or luxury item at the present time.
Mohamed Bdeir, Managing Director of Bank Audi Egypt, said that the decline in auto loans is caused by customers’ trends and priorities, and this contributes to not wasting hard currency.
Badir expected that after the end of the “Corona” crisis, the situation will quickly return to the rates of previous demand for auto loans.
– .
