Banks working in the Egyptian market achieved net profits of EGP 53.066bn during the period until December 2016, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The CBE revealed in its report that the five largest banks working in Egypt have acquired about 42.66% of the total profits, recording EGP 22.641bn.
It added that the 10 largest banks’ net profits reached EGP 33.866bn, equivalent to 63.81% of total profits.
According to the CBE, these profits have been achieved during the period from January 2016 until December 2016 for private banks, and from July until December 2016 for government banks.
The CBE did not reveal the names of these five or ten large banks; however, it is known that the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the Commercial International Bank (CIB), Banque du Caire, and QNB Al Ahli Bank top the list of the largest banks.
The CBE’s decision to liberate the local exchange rate on 3 November has increased the profits of some banks operating in the Egyptian market, whose capital was in foreign currency. The majority of banks with capital in local currency were affected negatively.
Among the banks that benefited from the flotation was Audi Bank-Egypt, whose business results showed a net profit after taxes of EGP 1.883bn by the end of 2016 compared to EGP 586m by the end of December 2015.
“After excluding the increase caused by the different exchange rates, the bank’s net profits will reach EGP 734m, an increase of 40%,” said Abbas Mohamed Fayed, CEO and managing director of Audi Bank-Egypt.
The most prominent banks affected by this decision included the National Union Bank-Egypt, whose business results showed a profit of EGP 181m at the end of 2016 compared to 160m in 2015, an increase of 13%.
According to Mohamed Nasr Abdeen, deputy chairperson of the bank, the bank’s profits were likely to increase to more than EGP 300m. However, the flotation decision taken by the CBE caused the bank a huge loss of more than EGP 100m.
The net yield achieved by the banks operating in Egypt until the end of December 2016 reached EGP 100.388bn. The share of the 10 largest banks reached EGP 68.614bn, equivalent to 68.34%, while the five largest banks recorded net yields of EGP 50.156bn, equivalent to 49.96% of the banks’ total yields.
According to the CBE, the revenues of the banks’ activities reached EGP 131.158bn until the end of December, where the 10 largest banks acquired EGP 82.145bn, an equivalent of 62.63%. The share of the five largest banks reached EGP 58.167bn, equivalent to 44.34%.
On the other hand, the banks’ expenditures amounted to EGP 78.092bn until the end of December 2016, of which EGP 48.279bn was spent by the 10 top banks, equivalent to 61.82%. The share of the five largest banks of expenditures reached about 35.526bn, equivalent to 45.49%.
