Best bank: Commercial International Bank
Commercial International Bank (CIB) has maintained its position as the bank to beat in Egypt during the review period.
The bank’s retail strategy has been dual-pronged under CEO Hussein Abaza, focusing on the retail and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors as the country pushes financial inclusion and the opportunity posed by non-resident Egyptians (NREs).
Profit before tax was E£4.17 billion ($87 million) last year, a 74% increase on 2022.
For the domestic retail and SME segment, the bank has worked to leverage its large base of non-borrowing SME customers by cross-selling different lending programmes and leveraging strong referrals.
The bank’s business-banking division has grown its assets book in the past five years by an average of 56%, to reach E£8.6 billion in 2023.
The Egyptian lender has also built up its cash and trade-management business, growing the client base by 8% year on year to more than 83,000 companies in the review period.
For international customers, the bank is working to offer a fully remote service and coverage model to establish itself as the main bank for NREs. Its online banking customer base reached 15 million users last year, up 15% year on year.
Mobile banking transactions were up 17% year on year, to 13.3 million transactions worth E£348 billion in total.
The bank continued its geographical expansion in Africa during the review period with the acquisition of the remaining 49% stake in its partially owned Kenyan subsidiary Mayfair-CIB in January 2023. The firm is now called CIB Kenya.
Best investment bank: EFG Hermes
EFG Hermes has maintained its position as Egypt’s premier investment bank this year. It acted on several high-profile debt-market transactions in the review period when clients turned to securitization as one way to tackle foreign-currency shortages and a challenging macroeconomic environment.
A standout deal was the Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company securitization programme. EFG Hermes worked with the mortgage refinancer to implement the newly approved E£3 billion ($63 million) scheme and advised EMRC on a securitized bond offering worth E£472 million.
Other notable deals include Al Taamir Mortgage Finance, Al Oula’s first securitization programme, worth E£998.5 million. The issuance was part of a wider E£3 billion securitization line-up.
The bank also expanded its research offering last year, making 19 additions to its coverage, including expanding coverage in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UAE. The bank’s research team also undertook trips to Kazakhstan to probe new opportunities in the CIS region.
Best digital bank: Commercial International Bank
For Commercial International Bank, 2023 was a year marked by strong digital growth and the adoption of open banking.
The bank registered a 24% increase in online banking transactions and a 17% increase in mobile banking transactions. The bank’s mobile user base grew by 15%.
It also successfully implemented open-banking architecture, incorporating instant payment processing.
Best bank for SMEs: Mashreq
Mashreq reported an 84% increase in small and medium-sized enterprise deposits, a 35% rise in loans and 22% growth in the total number of SME clients in Egypt during the awards period.
It has introduced a hub for SME clients that has streamlined transaction processing times and centralized client-service operations, making it easier for SME businesses to interact with the bank.
Mashreq has also improved its financial statement analysis process for SMEs by implementing an application by Indian fintech Perfios, which automates data extraction and reduces statement analysis time from three days to under three minutes.
Best bank for ESG: Commercial International Bank
Commercial International Bank has disbursed substantial funds to transformative projects and participated in landmark green financings this year.
In its arguably most impactful deal, the bank led the E£3.8 billion ($81,000) social sustainable bond for Tasahil Finance, a subsidiary of MNT Halan. Tasahil offers financing programmes for Egyptian citizens who are outside the banking sector. The deal is part of a three-year, E£13 billion programme.
In collaboration with the ministry of agriculture and land reclamation, the lender has also worked on a E£1 billion green financing initiative supporting agricultural projects in rural areas. This initiative has directed funds to over 475,000 farmers in areas such as medicinal and aromatic plants, horticulture and irrigation schemes.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: EFG Hermes
EFG Hermes has made good efforts through its foundation to support underprivileged communities in Egypt.
In 2023, the EFG Foundation, aiBank Foundation for Community Development and the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation signed a tripartite agreement to train nurses at the Aswan Heart Centre.
The foundation also launched its green footprint initiative in Esna’s El Deir community, designed to empower women through urban agriculture, transforming rooftops and balconies into productive green spaces. This offers a source of income as well as environmental benefits.
The first phase of the initiative has seen a reduction of three tons of carbon emissions annually, alongside strong recycling and conservation efforts. Families participating in the project have seen their incomes increase by E£12,000 ($250) to E£15,000 a year on average.
Best bank for diversity & inclusion: HSBC
HSBC has demonstrated balanced gender representation and support for diverse groups in its workforce and wider society.
In a landmark external initiative, the bank has partnered with the Global Fund for Widows to establish widow-owned and led microbanks that empower beneficiaries with loans and business support. Known as Wisalas, these microbanks supported 500 widows in Egypt over 2023.
HSBC also launched the second edition of its summer internship programme in Egypt, for which 26 participants were selected from over 3,500 applications. The bank has streamlined the onboarding process for new students, ensuring a diverse and inclusive intake.
Best bank for corporates: Banque Misr
Banque Misr has seen impressive growth in its syndicated loan activity and mortgage finance business during the review period.
It participated in 23 conventional syndicated loan transactions, totalling E$220 billion ($4.7 billion). These included a E£803 million facility to Fiber Misr for the development of telecommunication infrastructure, and a financing for Alexandria Port Authority worth E£8.8 billion.
The bank’s subsidiary CI Mortgage Finance also saw healthy growth, growing its loan portfolio to E£1.4 billion by the end of the year, a 133% increase. New loan disbursements were up by 167% to E£844 million in the 2023 financial year.
Rising star: Suez Canal Bank
Suez Canal Bank made good progress in its corporate banking operations last year, with loan volumes up by 10.4% to E£16.4 billion ($350,000) – a doubling of volumes since 2020.
The bank, which is 41% owned by Arab International Bank and 27.7% by Libyan Foreign bank Tripoli, has improved its cash-management offering with the introduction of ACH Corpay, which allows collection through direct debit and bulk payment via direct credit. It also launched reverse factoring for trade-finance customers.
The bank participated in the E£12 billion deal for Egyptian potassium fertilizers producer Evergrow.
