The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced Sunday the opening of a new government account to receive contributions to support the country's economy.
A statement by the bank said the move was a response to requests from Egyptian expatriates in Saudi Arabia. Money can be contributed to account number 8\85175.
Meanwhile, the CBE declared Monday a day off for banks nationwide, following strikes by workers at state-run banks complaining of rampant corruption and violations at their institutions. The strikes were staged two days after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down due to wide scale popular protests demanding his resignation.
The CBE decision was announced hours after a statement by Egypt's caretaker prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in which Shafiq made assurences that the country's economic situation was "stable."
Banks will remain closed through Tuesday 15 February for the moulid celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Mohamed.
Recently the CBE has interfered to embolden the Egyptian pound in face of the US dollar. The price of the Egyptian pound stood at USD5.89 at the start of Sunday's stock exchange transactions.
The Egyptian pound had dived in relation to the dollar when some banks resumed their operations a week ago, following a five-day closure during to the mass protests.
