Egyptian American Bank launches Egypt's first private mortgage company

The authorised capital of Company will be of LE100, 000,000.

Holding a 40% share in the company, EAB has spearheaded the creation of EHFC, so as to bring a boost to Egypt's real estate market. "We will be focussed on providing individual mortgages for first home buyers in Egypt," said Roderick Richards, Managing Director, EAB. "This will come as welcome news to prospective newly-weds, and to those in middle income brackets who are seeking financial support to buy their homes"

In the signing ceremony that took place in Cairo, in the presence of Egypt's Minister of Housing H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Solieman, Richards thanked the Government of Egypt for its foresight in passing Law Number 148 in June 2001. "Passage of the Mortgage Law has paved the way to attract to our project such internationally renowned development finance institutions as IFC and DEG, as well as our technical partner, HDFC, whose proven expertise in mortgage finance in India will be brought to the new venture.

"Our strength is in our partnership," said Richards. "Not only in the value of institutions such as IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and Germany's DEG, but also in the experience of our long-term partner Bank of Alexandria, and in the proven record of HDFC. HDFC established the first mortgage company in India in 1977, and now enjoys a share of more than half that market. In addition to its shareholding, HDFC has signed an agreement to provide technical assistance to EHFC.

"The establishment of EHFC is a further step in expanding the range of services that EAB will be able to offer to its individual clients" said John Smetanka, EAB Head of Consumer Banking. "Last year we launched our first credit cards to complement the range of consumer loan facilities provided by the Bank; the introduction of mortgage products will now allow us to satisfy a fundamental need of our consumer clients".

Egyptian American Bank was established in 1976, as a joint venture between American Express Holdings Inc. and the public sector Bank of Alexandria. Today, American Express holds a 40.83% stake in the Bank, while Bank of Alexandria holds 33.81%. The remaining shares are held by the Bank's employees, by companies and by private individuals. The Bank has its Head Office in Cairo and operates a network of 32 branches throughout Egypt.