Banking

Benefitting from the nation’s increasing economic stability over the past year, Egypt’s banks have enjoyed both ratings upgrades and continued profitability. Thanks to an ambitious government development strategy and new investment legislation, the project finance pipeline is returning to form after a period of muted activity. Elsewhere on the aggregate loan book, competition is heating up to serve a largely untapped retail segment and the nation’s challenging, but potentially rewarding, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment. With only 14% of the adult population owning or sharing an account at a formal financial institution, according to a 2014 survey by the World Bank and Gallup, the banking sector has much potential. A low median income plays a part in modest banking penetration. Yet the Egyptian economy contains significant investable liquidity, as was shown in September 2014 when LE64bn ($8.7bn) was raised in Suez Canal development certificates in a week, mostly through individuals. How banks approach this largely untapped market is a very compelling question

This chapter contains an interview with Dante Campioni, CEO and Managing Director, ALEXBANK.