Banking

In addition to having one of the largest banking sectors in North Africa, Egypt’s is also one of the most profitable. In more recent times, lenders have made easy gains on high-yielding government debt following the 2011 revolution, while an improving macroeconomic environment and the flotation of the local currency led to another robust performance for the sector in 2017. However, there are numerous challenges facing domestic lenders, such as a controversial new banking law and a bold lending target to small and medium-sized enterprises set by the regulator. Both of these issues are linked to the goal of redefining the role of banks in Egypt’s wider economy.

This chapter contains a roundtable with Dante Campioni, Managing Director and CEO, Alexbank; Mohammed El Etreby, CEO, Banque Misr; Hisham Ezz El Arab, Chairman, Commercial International Bank; and Hisham Okasha, Executive Chairman, National Bank of Egypt.