Banks will complete pumping the EGP10bn first tranche allocated by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for the mortgage finance initiative by end of 2017, according to the chairperson of Mortgage Finance Fund (MFF) Mai Abdel Hamid. Abdel Hamid said that the banks had pumped EGP4bn, so far, as part of the initiative adding that EGP1bn was injected by the fund in support of the initiative. The CBE’s initiative total funding was increased to EGP35bn, up from EGP20bn, owing to high demand for mortgages. Demand for social housing accounts for 80% of demand for real estate in Egypt with the middle-income earners accounting for 20%, the chairperson of MFF explained, adding that social housing scheme requires 5000 apartments a year. (Al Mal)