الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

• The Authority mandates each company individually to abide by financing controls for individuals and legal entities, while applying financial solvency standards.
• The Authority emphasizes the necessity of adhering to concentration ratios and the legislative and regulatory frameworks of the activity.

 Dr. Islam Azzam – FRA Chairman:

• Allowing crowdfunding aims to curb the adverse impacts of rising prices on market competitiveness.
• FRA is keen to balance business growth with effective market controls to safeguard the rights of all market participants.

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, has authorized real estate financing companies to extend credit to clients through a “crowdfunding” mechanism. Under this system, multiple companies can jointly participate in financing clients seeking to purchase high-value properties, provided that each participating firm strictly adheres to all governing rules and regulations for real estate financing.

Dr. Rehab Taha, Assistant to FRA Chairman, addressed an official letter to the Egyptian Real Estate Finance Federation approving crowdfunding operations following a formal request from the Federation. The request cited sector challenges facing both companies and market participants—most notably rising unit prices, limited capital bases for certain firms and constrained lending capacities relative to their statutory capital limits.

FRA outlined several key mandates that real estate financing companies must follow when engaging in crowdfunding mechanism. In this respect, each company must independently adhere to core lending rules for individuals and institutions under Real Estate Finance Law No. 148 of 2001, its executive regulations, and FRA resolutions. Furthermore, each lender must individually meet financial solvency standards outlined in FRA Board Resolution No. 158 of 2020.

Moreover, participating lenders must execute real estate financing agreements using standard contract templates issued by FRA, duplicating co-lender data fields within the template where applicable. Companies must ensure they do not individually breach statutory concentration limits for residential financing to natural persons, nor statutory limits for non-residential financing to natural or legal entities.

Under FRA Board Resolution No. 111 of 2015, financing granted to natural persons for residential purposes may not exceed 90% of the property’s value—with the exception of leasing arrangements (ijara), which are permitted up to 100%. Total financing extended to a single investor, their spouse and minor children is capped at 15% of the company’s capital base, while monthly installments cannot exceed 50% of the investor’s income.

For non-residential purposes, the resolution caps financing at 80% of property value and limits exposure to a single investor to a maximum of 30% of the company’s capital base.

Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman affirmed that the Authority remains dedicated to ongoing dialogue with non-banking financial federations to stay attuned to market shifts and emerging trends. He stressed that FRA aims to maintain a delicate balance between fostering industry growth, ensuring market stability, protecting consumer rights and maintaining strict compliance with legislative frameworks.

FRA Chairman noted that approving real estate crowdfunding directly addresses challenges related to price inflation, reduced competitiveness and restricted financing avenues for certain corporate and retail segments. He reiterated that these transactions remain fully governed by established legal frameworks, mandating absolute compliance with solvency and regulatory standards.

Notably, statistics for the first quarter of 2026 revealed a drop of over 21% in the number of new real estate finance clients, alongside a 17.5% increase in total financing value compared to the same period in 2025. Residential units accounted for approximately 78% of the total funds granted.