EGYPT LAUNCHES SINGLE REGULATOR FOR NON-BANKING FINANCIAL

UNCLAS CAIRO 001309

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA
TREASURY FOR BRYAN BALIN AND FRANCISCO PARODI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV EFIN PGOV EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT LAUNCHES SINGLE REGULATOR FOR NON-BANKING FINANCIAL
SECTOR


1. (U) Key Points

-- A new agency consolidating all non-bank financial supervisory
duties started operation July 1.

-- The new Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority merges three
pre-existing regulatory agencies overseeing the mortgage, insurance
and capital markets.

-- The merger, which USAID helped design, is intended to increase
the transparency and efficiency of the financial sector and
diversify and expand access to financial services.


2. (U) The newly established Egyptian Financial Supervisory
Authority (EFSA) began operating July 1 and replaces the Capital
Market Authority, the Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority, and
the Mortgage Finance Authority. The EFSA, which the GOE has also at
times called the General Authority of Financial Supervision (GAFS),
is part of Egypt's ongoing economic reform program. The merger is
expected to help consolidate and streamline regulation of all
non-bank financial industries, with the intention of improving both
supervision and enforcement and ultimately diversifying and
modernizing Egypt's financial sector.


3. (U) In a statement, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin said
that the establishment of the new regulator is part of the
comprehensive reform program that began in 2004 and has included tax
and energy subsidy reductions and the privatization of several
previously state-owned enterprises. EFSA, according to the Ministry
of Investment, is intended to boost investment in Egypt through more
efficient supervision of non-bank financial markets, including
insurance, capital markets, mortgage finance, leasing, and improved
investor rights protections. The Ministry also stated that its first
priority will be to create a unified corporate governance code to
replace the different regulations formerly used by the three
separate sub-regulators.


4. (U) The new authority will be headed by Dr. Ziad Bahaa El-Din, a
lawyer and widely respected former head of the General Authority of
Free Zones and Investment, Egypt's investment promotion agency.
Although the new regulatory authority began operations last week,
the merger of the supervisory authorities will take place over a
transitional period of several years, Mohieldin told the local
press. The overall merger will take place in still imprecisely
defined phases, beginning with the merger of basic supervisory
activities and the creation of a "One Stop Shop" for servicing
public inquiries and basic requests. The legal structure of the
agency is still being formulated and is not expected to be finalized
until the end of the transitional period. Two deputies and six board
members will serve under the chairman, all appointed by the Prime
Minister.


5. (U) EFSA is still working out a number of basic logistical
issues. For instance, it has developed a website for the new agency,
but is still creating an integrated information technology platform
and devising an organizational structure, both with USAID
assistance. One of its most important current priorities is
developing job descriptions and functions for new employees. Bahaa
El-Din is in the process of finding appointments for a handful of
top leadership positions within EFSA, and in six months is expected
to begin hiring other employees. Employees at the three formerly
separate regulatory agencies are still housed at their home
agencies, but are expected to move to a new EFSA headquarters, still
under construction, in three to four years.


6. (U) A number of experts and financial analysts have voiced
optimism about the merger and consider it a step toward greater
market efficiency. Amr Wahib, investment manager at Kaizen Financial
Consulting, said that the change would enhance market transparency
and have a positive effect on investment in general. However, some
experts expressed concern about the difficulty of merging previously
independent entities. Although the three previously separate
financial regulatory agencies all operated under the Ministry of
Investment, they were administered separately and neither cooperated
nor communicated extensively with one another. Additionally, a
recent presidential decree has given EFSA substantial independence.
The agency will have a salary structure independent of the GOE and
will report directly to the Minister of Investment rather than to
the Ministry itself.


7. (U) Comment: Since one of the major obstacles to investment in
Egypt is the country's underdeveloped financial sector, the merger
of the three regulatory agencies is potentially another step in the
right direction. It should facilitate Egypt's integration with the
global financial system, boosting foreign capital inflows and
stimulating the economy in the long-run. Although Egyptian banks'
cautiousness may have helped insulate the country's financial sector
from the global economic crisis, it has also stifled investment,
particularly in small- to medium-sized firms, and hampered the

development of other financial instruments, such as mortgages. The
new authority is expected to provide a more efficient framework for
developing a wider variety of credit options for Egyptian firms,
mortgages for potential homeowners, and other financial instruments.



8. (U) Comment Cont'd: While the USG has supported each of the three
stand alone regulators over the past several years and they have
improved significantly, each still has much room to improve.
Clearer regulations, greater transparency, and stronger enforcement
of existing laws will increase the credibility of the regulatory
environment and gradually promote private initiative and financial
innovation. Such a regulatory overhaul is a complicated process, so
financial development and diversification will take place gradually.
Likewise, there is no indication yet as to whether the new authority
will seek to liberalize financial regulations rather than simply
unify supervision and enforcement. If the GOE engages in another
round of financial liberalization, this time with a focus on the
non-bank financial sector, the development of EFSA puts it in a
better position to do so simultaneously and uniformly, and hopefully
more effectively. End Comment.

SCOBEY