CAIRO, March 24 (Reuters) - Chief executive officers of banks in Egypt, including those in the private sector, will have to step down after nine years as part of measures to modernise the sector and "inject new blood", Egypt's central bank said on Thursday.

The rule will apply to the CEOs of public and private banks as well as the heads of foreign banks operating in Egypt, and both consecutive and non-consecutive terms will count towards the limit, the bank's statement added.

Around 40 public and private sector banks operate in Egypt.

The central bank has recently taken steps to alleviate a deepening foreign currency crisis: devaluing the Egyptian pound, lifting caps on foreign deposits and withdrawals, and injecting hundreds of millions of dollars to free up import activity.

(Reporting by Eric Knecht and Ehab Farouk; Editing by Kevin Liffey)