Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) granted three state-owned banks a total of EGP31bn subordinated loan: EGP16bn to Banque Misr, EGP13bn to National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and EGP2bn to Banque du Caire. The financing aims at helping the three banks meet Basel capital adequacy requirements. The three banks invested the subordinated loan in three-year treasury bills bearing 16% interest rate, as part of an exceptional auction held by the CBE to which only state-owned banks took part. Capital adequacy regulatory requirements for the state-owned banks will be calculated based on consolidated accounts starting from June 2016, instead of standalone accounts. Banque Misr was granted the largest share of the loan as it holds the largest number of financial subsidiaries and hence requires more regulatory capital. Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 10.27% for Banque Misr and 7.54% for NBE as of June 2015. (Al Borsa)