الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

FRA Concludes Inaugural Short-Selling Training Program  for Brokerages Ahead of Market Launch –  Tuesday 27 October 2026

• Program Goals: Designed to familiarize market participants with the new regulatory framework, technical requirements and rights and obligations of each party

Dr. Islam Azzam , FRA Chairman:

• This training is core to building capacity and technical readiness ahead of the short-selling rollout.
• Passing this program is mandatory for brokerage firms seeking a short-selling license.

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, has concluded its inaugural training program to prepare brokerage firms and financial institutions for the new regulatory and operational framework governing short selling (Securities Borrowing and Lending for short sales), issued under Board Resolution No. 155 of 2026.

Executed by the Financial Services Institute (FSI)— FRA training arm—and delivered by industry experts Hanan Hamdy and Amr El-Saoudi, the program drew more than 100 participants representing 42 brokerage firms and financial institutions, qualifying them to serve as designated compliance and execution officers for short-selling transactions.

Under the new regulatory decree, any brokerage firm seeking authorization to offer short selling must employ at least one designated short-selling compliance officer. Candidates must pass FRA-mandated examinations and training modules to gain comprehensive practical knowledge of the regulatory framework, clarify operational roles across market participants, and fulfill technical licensing requirements.

To achieve these objectives, the curriculum focused heavily on key execution mechanisms, collateral management, coverage ratio monitoring, mark-to-market settlements, closing open positions, returning borrowed securities and technical compliance controls.

The program delivered a detailed walkthrough of the new regulatory framework for short selling across 13 core pillars: the general framework of the mechanism, the new Central Lending System, operating conditions and controls, the rights and obligations of both brokerage firms and borrowing clients, and the role of Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR). It also covered securities lending and borrowing caps and ratios, role of custodians, securities availability and collateral management, closure of borrowing positions and return of securities. In addition to corporate actions and associated shareholder benefits, direct contracts between brokerages and lending or borrowing clients, technical and regulatory compliance requirements, and standard contract model between brokerages and borrowing clients recently issued under FRA Chairman Decree No. 3350 of 2026.

Commenting on the rollout, Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman noted that the training program marks a significant operational step toward launching short selling in the Egyptian market as the Authority completes regulatory guidelines and conducts live simulations to fine-tune the Central Lending System managed by MCDR. He emphasized that building staff capacity is not merely a licensing prerequisite for brokerage firms, but a foundational pillar of FRA’s broader awareness strategy to ensure a seamless market launch that achieves its intended economic impact on the capital market.

Ahead of the official rollout, FRA released a comprehensive video hosted by Dr. Islam Azzam across its official website, social media and YouTube channels. The video detailed the mechanics, obligations and risk profiles for lenders, borrowers, brokerages, MCDR, and custodians, while highlighting the real-time functionality of the new Central Lending System which enables borrowers to view live lending offers aligned with their investment strategies and allows lenders full visibility over registered market offers.

Additionally, the Authority published educational content clarifying the distinction between short selling and margin trading, emphasizing how combining both mechanisms enhances pricing efficiency and market liquidity on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).

It is worth mentioning that short seller profits when a borrowed security’s price falls as anticipated, allowing the investor to repurchase shares at a lower price, lock in the profit margin minus borrowing costs, and return the securities to the lender. Conversely, if the security’s price rises, the short seller must repurchase the shares at a higher price to limit losses, incurring a financial loss plus borrowing fees upon returning the securities. In both scenarios, the lending investor receives a yield combining the risk-free rate and a lending premium, while retaining all shareholder privileges and corporate action benefits.

FRA Holds Training Program for CAPMAS Staff Under Joint Cooperation Protocol – Sunday 25 October 2026

Dr. Islam Azzam – FRA Chairman:

• Training Serves as Key Pillar for Protocol Goals: Enhancing Report Quality and Indicator Accuracy Across Non-Banking Financial Activities

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), through its training arm, the Financial Services Institute (FSI), has launched a comprehensive training program for employees of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The five-day initiative focuses on financial data analysis, non-banking financial activity indicators, and advanced statistical extraction to support national economic decision-making. The program forms part of the operational roadmap under a strategic cooperation protocol signed between FRA and CAPMAS to unify statistical metrics and optimize their use in drafting reports and shaping economic policies.

FRA Chairman Dr. Islam Azzam stated that training is vital to realizing the protocol’s goals, particularly streamlining the exchange and availability of statistical metrics. This initiative aims to elevate data accuracy in official reporting, improve statistical workflows, curb duplicate information requests to businesses, reduce administrative overhead and deliver robust analytics for monitoring economic performance and future growth trends.

The program was inaugurated by Mr. Mohamed El-Sayyad and Dr. Tarek Seif FRA Vice Chairman as part of ongoing institutional cooperation between FRA and CAPMAS. The initiative aims to foster technical knowledge sharing and build institutional capacity for analyzing financial data and extracting statistical indicators that reflect developments across FRA-regulated sectors.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Mohamed El-Sayyad welcomed CAPMAS trainees, emphasizing the crucial role of accurate data and statistics in analyzing non-banking financial activities—particularly capital markets and exchanges. He noted that robust metrics are essential for tracking market performance, measuring activity indicators and supporting objective decision-making. Mr. El-Sayyad also highlighted the establishment and evolving mandate of FRA, outlining its regulatory scope which balances market stability with the protection of participant rights.

For his part, Dr. Tarek Seif reviewed the key legislation and regulatory frameworks governing the Authority’s operations, along with international accounting standards and their importance in enhancing financial disclosure, transparency and data comparability. Dr. Seif also highlighted the pivotal role of Egypt’s insurance sector, stressing that reliable statistical data and metrics are vital for evaluating sector performance, monitoring activity growth and driving efficient supervision, strategic planning and policy formulation.

Spanning five days, the program covered the regulatory mandate of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the entities under its supervision and the role of non-banking financial activities in supporting the national economy. It introduced key non-banking financing activities, including financial leasing, factoring, consumer finance, mortgage finance, and SME and microfinance.

A full module focused on capital markets, covering brokerage firms, custodians, asset managers, the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), and clearing and settlement operations. The session provided hands-on training in key financial metrics—including liquidity, profitability, solvency, and operational efficiency—backed by practical case studies analyzing published brokerage data.

Another full day focused on the insurance sector, examining company structures, reinsurance, brokerage activities, and insurance products. Training centered on analyzing data related to premiums, claims, technical reserves, provisions, investments and underwriting surplus, complemented by practical application extracting relevant metrics from insurance company disclosures.

The curriculum also covered financial statement analysis for insurance and brokerage firms, familiarizing trainees with the components of balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and supplementary notes. Participants analyzed revenue streams, commissions, financial assets, liabilities and client balances using real-world published financial statements.

The program concluded with a specialized module on financial and statistical analysis, covering horizontal and vertical analysis techniques, financial ratios (liquidity, profitability, activity, and capital structure), growth rates, sector averages, and performance benchmarks. It also addressed data quality verification, consistency checks, comparability, error correction and generation of statistical tables, sectoral indicators, periodic reports and databases.

The implementation of this program reflects the commitment of both FRA and CAPMAS to activate their cooperation protocol, foster database integration, and enhance staff technical capabilities. Ultimately, the initiative aims to generate reliable, up-to-date statistical indicators and elevate non-banking financial analysis while upholding the highest standards of accuracy, confidentiality and data protection in service of economic planning and decision-making.

FRA Issues Q3 2026 Investment Fund Report: Net Assets Exceed Half-Trillion EGP – Sunday 25 October 2026

• Investment fund certificates hit 52.5 Billion as retail investors hold 80% Share.
• Private equity funds led performance with an average yield of 15.24%, followed by index funds at 13.03%.

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, has issued Q3 2026 Investment Fund Report, tracking non-banking financial market developments through the end of September 2026.

The report highlights sustained expansion in total assets under management—crossing half trillion EGP—alongside a steady broadening of the investor base. Total fund certificates rose by more than 19% compared to the second quarter of the year, underscoring the growing role of investment funds as a key vehicle in the Egyptian capital market.

According to the report, the total number of registered funds across various asset classes expanded to 232 funds by the end of September 2026, up from 224 funds at the end of Q2.

The report details significant growth in key industry indicators and highlights expanding range of available investment options. The total number of funds rose to 232 by the end of September 2026, up from 224 funds at the end of the second quarter.

He highlighted that the market now offers an unprecedented variety of investment tools and products—ranging from equity and money market funds to precious metals, private equity, index and real estate funds. This wide array provides investors across all segments with innovative savings and investment channels tailored to their goals, while offering effective mechanisms to diversify risk and generate sustainable returns, ultimately supporting national economic stability and boosting financial and investment inclusion across Egypt.

According to the report, net assets under management in mutual funds reached EGP 504.71 billion by the end of September 2026, up from EGP 470.97 billion at the end of June. This marks an increase of EGP 33.74 billion, representing a growth rate of approximately 7.16% during the third quarter.

Local currency-denominated assets totaled EGP 470.10 billion, while foreign currency holdings reached the equivalent of EGP 34.60 billion, reflecting ongoing portfolio diversification across currency classes.

Total assets managed by funds rose to approximately EGP 512.84 billion by the end of September, compared to EGP 478.10 billion at the end of Q2, recording a quarterly growth rate of 7.27%.

In addition, the volume of issued fund certificates continued its upward trajectory, reaching 52.50 billion certificates by late September, up from 44.04 billion at the end of June—a surge of 19.21% over the three-month period.

 Retail participants secured the biggest share of market ownership with 41.90 billion certificates, representing 79.8% of total holdings. Corporate and legal entities accounted for 10.16 billion certificates (19.4%), while founding institutions retained 441.7 million earmarked certificates, or 0.8% of total issuance.

Regarding investment performance during the third quarter of 2026, private equity funds outperformed all other categories with a top-tier average return of 15.24%. Index funds followed closely with a 13.03% average return, while single-sector funds delivered 12.23%. Precious metals funds and Islamic equity funds also posted solid gains, yielding average returns of 8.23% and 8.00% respectively. Rounding out the quarterly results, transferable securities funds returned 6.76%, thematic funds focusing on IT, fintech, and innovation ecosystems averaged 5.68%, and broader equity funds closed the quarter at 5.55%.

These positive indicators reflect expanding investor confidence and a steady rollout of regulated financial products across Egypt. Through its ongoing efforts to deepen non-banking financial markets, FRA continues to broaden investment vehicles tailored to diverse investor profiles, further bolstering the overall attraction and competitiveness of the Egyptian capital market.