الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

Under PM Auspices: FRA Launches ” Building Capacity , Driving  Development” Conference in Alexandria Tomorrow-  Wednesday  14 October 2026

• A series of public events to introduce non-bank financial activities and boost their developmental contribution
• FRA Chairman Dr. Islam Azzam and Alexandria Governor Eng. Ayman Attia meet with MPs, the business community, federation representatives, and companies
• FRA Chairman in an open session with Alexandria University faculty and students to review updates in capital markets, insurance, and non-bank finance
• Launching “Capacity Building ,Driving Development” exhibition at Alexandria Stadium to bridge the gap between product and service providers and citizens
• Events aim to maximize Alexandria’s community benefits from financial activities and spread awareness of safe investment pathways and customer protection
• Institutional cooperation between FRA, the governorate, and government bodies to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and highlight opportunities for small business development

Under the auspices of Prime Minister Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, with the participation and attendance of Alexandria Governor Eng. Ayman Attia, is organizing ” Building  Capacity , Driving Development – Know & Benefit” conference in Alexandria tomorrow, Thursday, October 15. The event aims to introduce non-bank financial activities and maximize the benefits for Alexandria’s business community and citizens.

This comes as part of FRA’s commitment to enhance financial inclusion concepts across Egypt in alignment with Vision 2030 and its approach of balancing thriving financial activities with the protection of clients and raising awareness of the rights and obligations of all parties, thereby increasing the non-bank financial sector’s contribution to the national economy.

These events hold special significance given Alexandria’s exceptional economic and commercial weight as Egypt’s second-largest governorate in terms of economic activity volume and diversity after the capital, its steadily expanding markets—particularly for small and micro-enterprises—and its vital role as a hub for service, logistical, and commercial activities linked to heavy and food industries, maritime transport and import-export.

The activities reflect the growing institutional cooperation —represented by FRA and Alexandria Governorate—to raise financial awareness and literacy, guide citizens on selecting and safely engaging with non-bank financial service providers, outline customer protection mechanisms across various activities, support entrepreneurs in developing and expanding their businesses, and showcase a wide range of insurance and financing solutions tailored to diverse needs.

FRA Chairman Dr. Islam Azzam is scheduled to visit Alexandria Governorate headquarters, where he will meet with Governor Eng. Ayman Attia, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and representatives of the business community, chambers of commerce, federations, companies, and associations operating in the sector. The discussions will cover prospects for expanding and deepening non-bank financial activities in Alexandria, growth opportunities, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, addressing existing challenges and finding solutions, and reviewing  FRA’s latest regulatory decisions and their targeted market impacts to improve service quality and strengthen early risk-monitoring mechanisms.

Dr. Islam Azzam will also be a guest at Alexandria University for an open dialogue with faculty members and students addressing the present and future of Egypt’s non-bank financial sector, recent developments and mechanisms in the stock exchange, investment funds, insurance, and non-bank finance, as well as recent resolutions issued to ensure client protection and meet market demands.

Furthermore, the events feature the launch of ”  Building  Capacity , Driving Development” exhibition for non-bank financial services at Alexandria Stadium . It  will be opened to the public to establish direct connections between providers of insurance, small- and medium-enterprise (SME) and micro-finance, consumer finance, leasing, factoring, and mortgage finance services and local citizens.

FRA is organizing the exhibition in cooperation with Alexandria Governorate, with extensive participation from specialized federations under its regulatory purview and numerous active companies in capital markets, investment funds, insurance, and non-bank finance. The event aims to provide services to Alexandrian public, introduce cutting-edge products to support growing business needs, foster the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises, and present safe investment channels fully regulated by FRA.

As part of promoting financial literacy among public, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aziz, Assistant to Chairman, will deliver an introductory lecture during the exhibition at Alexandria Stadium. The session will cover FRA-regulated activities, safe and conscious utilization of financial and insurance services—especially via expanding fintech solutions in the Egyptian market—combatting market fraud and negative practices and building sound financial decision-making skills to positively impact citizens’ living standards and economic contributions.

Additionally, the National Council for Women (NCW) will host several FRA leaders and the Central Dep. for Financial Literacy and Awareness in an open session with women under “I invest” financial literacy initiative. The meeting will address capital markets, investment funds, insurance, non-bank finance, leasing, factoring and Movable Collateral Registry (MCR), highlighting the role these activities play in transitioning from savings to investment and production, alongside pathways launched by FRA to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship

FRA Chairman Holds High-Level Talks with Head of Tunisia’s Microfinance Supervisory Authority – Wednesday 14 October 2026

• Bilateral Talks Explore Strategies to Scale Microfinance activities and Boost Socioeconomic Development
• Delegation Shares Practical Insights on Risk Mitigation, Compliance Standards, and Client Protection Mechanisms

Dr. Islam Azzam, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), received Mr. Mahmoud El Montasser Mansour, Executive Director General and Founder of the Microfinance Supervisory Authority (MSA) of the sisterly Republic of Tunisia, accompanied by Dr. Rehab Taha, Assistant FRA Chairman. The meeting aimed to foster joint cooperation and exchange regulatory and organizational expertise in non-bank finance, thereby driving market development, efficiency, and sustainability.

The visit comes as part of the Tunisian delegation’s interest in closely examining the legislative and regulatory frameworks governing medium, small, and microenterprise (MSME) financing in Egypt, particularly in light of the chronological proximity of regulating this sector in both countries.

At the outset of the meeting, Dr. Islam Azzam welcomed the Tunisian officials to their second home, Egypt, emphasizing FRA’s deep pride in cooperating with sisterly Arab and African countries. He noted that knowledge sharing and capacity building remain top priorities for the Authority, alongside showcasing Egypt’s institutional and regulatory experience in governing non-bank financial activities while benefiting from the experiences of other countries.

He explained that non-bank project financing stands at the forefront of the FRA’s regulated sectors, touching the vast majority of citizens. This is due to its direct link to advancing financial inclusion—a core objective of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the state’s strategy to boost the national economy—and its targeted positive impact on vulnerable segments, underscoring its vital role in sustainable economic and social development.

 FRA Chairman added that Egypt has witnessed remarkable growth in financing balances of  medium, small, and micro enterprises, collectively exceeding EGP 101 billion in the second quarter of this year (2026), benefiting approximately 3.5 million male and female citizens across roughly 4,400 licensed branches of companies, associations, and institutions  allover Egypt.

Dr. Islam Azzam underscored that FRA has placed paramount importance recently on enhancing the quality of  beneficiaries’ financing experience—especially in microfinance—by tightening client creditworthiness standards to reduce default rates, ensuring information clarity, safeguarding data privacy, encouraging entities to innovate new products that meet client needs, and guaranteeing access to effective grievance and complaint mechanisms to verify the genuine impact of financing on clients’ lives and economic activities.

 FRA Chairman highlighted several recently issued resolutions aimed at regulating collection activity to prevent abuses, tightening customer identity verification procedures, bolstering the Authority’s capacity for early risk detection and mitigating individual default risks, improving the financial solvency of active entities, and encouraging the innovation of fintech-driven products to keep pace with market developments and shifting client conditions. These measures aim to expand access to new beneficiaries, particularly in poor and remote areas, in parallel with ongoing awareness-raising efforts through cooperation with various governmental entities.

For his part, Mr. Mahmoud El Montasser Mansour, Director General of Tunisia’s Microfinance Supervisory Authority, outlined the evolution of the sector since its regulation in Tunisia in 1999 across associations, followed by the sector’s restructuring in 2011 to subject commercial microfinance institutions to oversight. He also highlighted the Authority’s role since 2012 in regulating pricing and monitoring financing costs, alongside the latest measures adopted last year, including reviewing pricing for certain products offered by the 7 licensed microfinance companies and 289 licensed microcredit associations.

Mansour noted that more than 856,000 clients currently benefit from microfinance in Tunisia, and that the past year (2025) recorded financing disbursements of approximately 2.7 billion Tunisian Dinars (EGP 47.1 billion), reflecting the sector’s continuous expansion as the number of financing transactions exceeded 524,000.

The meeting also shed light on development of financial products and  diversification of financing tools, while addressing both sides’ experiences in digital transformation, fintech applications, the integration of artificial intelligence into regulatory tools, and modern mechanisms for risk management, compliance, and consumer protection to enhance the efficiency of areas of mutual interest.

FRA Chairman: Live Trials on Central Lending System in Preparation for Short Selling Rollout – Tuesday 13 October 2026

FRA Chairman:

• Live operational tests with Misr Clearing (MCDR) and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) continue constructive market dialogue on short selling.
• System designed to enhance transparency and enable real-time tracking for lenders and borrowers.
• The system ensures complete documentation across all operational stages and workflows, while providing clients full transparency to view all available offers.

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), in coordination with Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR) and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), is conducting live technical trials on a new Central Lending System. These tests serve as a final operational phase preceding short selling rollout, specifically securities lending and borrowing for short sales, pursuant to the newly established regulatory framework issued under FRA Board Decision  No. 155 of 2026.

Technical teams across the three entities reviewed the latest infrastructure and electronic systems upgrades. These developments ensure real-time, end-to-end integration between MCDR and licensed brokerage firms, complete documentation of operational workflows, and transparent access for short sellers to evaluate lending offers submitted by lenders—matching them to their investment strategies—while enabling lenders to view competing lending offers recorded on the system.

Furthermore, several brokerage firms licensed for short selling participated in the latest technical trials to ensure operational efficiency, smooth mechanics ahead of launch, and verified IT infrastructure connectivity with the Central Lending System for real-time order tracking.

Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman stated that Central Lending System developed and managed by MCDR will host all securities balances available for lending. He highlighted that the system operates under updated rules that enforce total transparency, strict governance, and full protection of market participants’ rights, in alignment with international best practices and under direct FRA supervision.

Dr. Islam Azzam added that ongoing live trials reflect FRA’s commitment to constructive market dialogue, balancing regulatory oversight, international practices and solutions designed to overcome historical obstacles that previously delayed short selling activation in Egypt.

He emphasized that the live trials aim to bolster transparency and allow borrowers and lenders to monitor transactions in real time. The system ensures complete end-to-end documentation by explicitly displaying available securities by name, volume, and tenure, alongside detailed transaction logs, client profiles, and position closeouts to safeguard all parties.

The short-selling mechanism involves five primary market participants: lenders offering securities for loan; borrowers securing securities to short sell and return later; licensed brokerage firms acting as executing intermediaries; custodians handling client lending requests; and Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR).

The regulatory framework guarantees that lenders retain full economic ownership—including cash dividends, bonus issues, and pre-emptive rights—throughout the lending period. However, general assembly voting rights remain with the shareholder of record on the date of meeting.

Regarding limits and risk controls, total lent shares cannot exceed 40% of a listed company’s total free-float shares, while borrowing limits for an individual client and their related parties are capped at 2% of a listed company’s total free float. Additionally, a maximum cap of 5% is allocated for direct bilateral contracts executed between a broker, lender, and borrower, held under the brokerage firm’s responsibility.

To enforce compliance, MCDR is mandated to monitor lending limits continuously to prevent statutory cap breaches, perform daily mark-to-market valuations on borrowed securities and total collateral based on closing prices, and settle daily margin differentials directly through brokerage settlement accounts. Should a brokerage firm fail to return securities, MCDR will execute buy-in and return procedures on behalf of the lender.

Furthermore, MCDR must retain all short-sale proceeds, investing them on behalf of lenders from the settlement date into fixed-income instruments or FRA-approved investment vehicles. The central depository will then disburse the lending fee and accrued investment yield to the lender within two business days following central system closure.

Finally, brokerage firms and custodians must submit all requested data, records and documentation to FRA and EGX upon demand. To preserve market stability, FRA retains executive authority to take immediate protective measures against systemic harm, up to and including revoking a brokerage firm’s license to conduct short selling