Amr El-Ganainy, Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Sector at the Commercial International Bank (CIB), said that the bank’s share in financing companies operating in the real estate sector reaches about 22%, expecting to increase it by about 15% during 2020.
He added that the bank has never stopped supporting the real estate sector, but it is always looking for good opportunities to finance the sector.
On Wednesday, the CIB signed a EGP 1.1bn medium-term facility contract with Palm Hills Development Company.
El-Ganainy expected an increase in the demand for loans in banks after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) cut interest rates, stressing at the same time that the real estate financing initiative launched by the CBE for financing medium income with EGP 50bn will lead to a great revitalisation of the real estate market.
Soha Abou Zekri, head of Global Customer Relations at the CIB, said that the financing portfolio of real estate developers and real estate companies reached about 15% of the total corporate credit portfolio in the bank, pointing out that it exceeded EGP 10bn with a number of clients of 800.
She emphasised that the CIB has great interest in the real estate sector, realising the importance of this sector in revitalising the Egyptian economy, and its role in operating many other sectors.
Nevine Wefky, president of corporate credit and investment at the bank, indicated that the CIB is interested in financing various economic sectors, whether industrial, agricultural, or service. She noted that the bank is present and participates in real estate financing for social housing, and is studying participation in the new initiative launched by the CBE of EGP 50bn for middle-income housing.
