The Housing Ministry announced that it will issue 500,000 low-income housing units at end of current month. Bankers expect that this new issuance would trigger 30-50% additional demand for mortgage financing in the upcoming period and the next few years. Some bankers said that while this issuance is expected to have a positive impact for banks, the large number of units issued and underlying financing needs require assistance and support from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to manage necessary liquidity. A CBE official stated that the CBE is ready to expand its financing for phases one and two of the mortgage initiative by EGP10 billion for each phase once the initial planned financing of EGP20 billion is fully utilised. Mortgage loans granted by specialised financing companies picked up 70% Y-o-Y in 2015 to EGP981 million, up from EGP576 million in 2014. (Al Borsa)