The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), allocated EGP 500 million for mortgage finance firms as the first stage of a financing initiative, reported Al Mal News.

The money will be given to the Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company (EMRC) early Septemeber to be re-pumped to other lending finance firms, said Alaa Bedair, a senior executive at EMRC.

All lending firms will send applications to EMRC to be carefully examined before approving the mortgage loans, added Bedair.

The CBE launched an initiative in 2014 worth EGP 10 billion ($1.4 billion) in the mortgage sector to finance housing purchases for middle and low-income earners, Amwal Al Ghad reported.

The CBE’s initial mortgage initiative, worth EGP 10 billion, would go to banks in the local market to offer at low interest rates for 20 years. The money would be lent out by the banks to low and middle-income individuals at a declining rate of 7% and 8% respectively.