Banks operating in the Egyptian market achieved a net profit of EGP 45.843bn at the end of June 2018, against EGP 47.4bn in June 2017, down by EGP 1.56bn, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
In a recent report, the CBE stated that the top five banks accounted for 61.34% of the total profits realised by banks. Collectively, the five banks achieved EGP 28.122bn of the net profits.
The top 10 banks posted profits of EGP 33.408bn equivalent to about 72.87% of the total profits.
According to the CBE, these profits were realised for the period from 1 January 2018 to the end of June 2018 for private banks, and for the period from 1 July 2017 until the end of June 2018 for government banks.
The CBE did not disclose the names of those five or ten banks, however, the market names the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank, Banque du Caire and QNB Al-Ahli as the top five banks.
According to a prominent bank, the decline banks’ profits during that period is due to several reasons, including the decline in the margin between the interest rates on deposits and lending at banks, especially government banks because of the issuance of high-yield certificates, in addition to strong competition between banks to grant loans and thus reduce the profit margin to attract customers, as well as increasing item expenses owing to bank expansions.
According to the CBE, the profits achieved by banks until the end of June 2018 amount to EGP 78.612bn. The share of the largest 10 banks amounted to EGP 54.713bn, which account for 69.59%, while the share of the top five banks alone reached EGP 45.593bn, representing 57.99% of the total profits.
The CBE continued and said that the net operation income has amounted to EGP 120.889bn. The top 10 banks accounted for EGP 87.565bn, equivalent to 72.43%, while the top five banks’ shares reached EGP 74.877bn, accounting for 61.93%.
Meanwhile, expenses at the end of June amounted to EGP 75.046bn, including EGP 54.157bn by the top 10 banks, or 72.16%, and EGP 46.755bn by the top five banks, accounting for 62.3% of expenditures.
The recent period has seen considerable interest from banks in modernising their infrastructure, as well as spreading out geographically through mini and regular branches, in addition to automated teller machines and point of sale terminal machines, to reach clients throughout the country, which increases expenses.
