Banks operating in the local market have reduced their non-performing loans (NPLs) allocations by EGP 2.95bn to EGP 122.27bn in June 2019, compared to EGP 125.22bn at the end of May 2019, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced.

Banks set aside part of their profits as allocations to deal with doubtful debts, and reducing these allocations indicates an improvement in their NPL index.

In the same context, the CBE revealed that the volume of reserves, which banks are also sparing to face any emergencies or support their capital base, declined to about EGP 236.06bn at the end of June 2019, compared to EGP 238.89bn at the end of May 2019.