The Suez Canal Bank’s (SCB) Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Akef El Maghraby as the new CEO and Managing Director, alongside Ahmed Amr Tantawi as the Non-Executive Chairperson. Their tenure will span three years, commencing in 2024 and concluding in 2027.
The SCB General Assembly has ratified the new board of directors lineup, featuring El Maghraby and Tantawi, alongside Mohamed Fareed Hafez, Amr Bahaa El Din, and Amr Atallah from the Arab International Bank. The board also welcomed Saleh Bendari, Adel Fathi Abou Bakr, Ali Abdel Rahman Dwai from the Libyan Foreign Bank, and Osama Rabie from the Suez Canal Authority’s Workers Insurance Fund.
El Maghraby, formerly the Vice Chairperson of Banque Misr, and Tantawi, a previous board member at the same bank for the Arab International Bank, bring a wealth of experience. El Maghraby’s tenure at Banque Misr saw him overseeing diverse sectors such as corporate, treasury, investments, SMEs, retail banking, branch operations, Islamic finance, international dealings, global trade, financial inclusion, and digital innovation. His achievements include spearheading various mergers, acquisitions, and financial operations for corporations via bank loans and bond offerings, managing IPOs on the stock market, and handling derivative deals.
Previously, El Maghraby held multiple leadership roles, including the Chairperson of Banque Misr-Europe in Frankfurt, the Chairperson of Misr Digital Innovation, and board member at Banque Misr Liban, Misr Capital Investments, the Egyptian Banking Institute, Misr Insurance Holding, EgyptAir Holding, Altera, and Africa50 Fund.
With a 16-year tenure at Citibank, El Maghraby’s career spanned credit analysis, corporate finance, credit advisory, and corporate and investment banking across Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the Netherlands. His expertise facilitated numerous corporate finance and sovereign wealth fund ventures through bank loans, bond issues, and sukuk. El Maghraby is an alumnus of the American University in Cairo, holding a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA.
As for Amr Tantawi, he is an alumnus of Cairo University’s Faculty of Commerce with a specialization in Accounting since 1976. Tantawi embarked on his banking career at the Arab African International Bank in 1977. His five-year tenure there was marked by significant contributions to the banking operations sector. In 1982, Tantawi transitioned to the EG Bank, where he served diligently until 1992.
Subsequently, Tantawi’s expertise led him to the National Bank of Egypt, where he assumed the role of Deputy Branch Manager in Cairo from 1993 until December 1995. His journey continued at MIDBANK, where he managed the 6th of October and Nasr City branches, eventually rising to Assistant General Manager for branches and then Head of Branches and Banking Operations. Tantawi’s leadership qualities were recognized with his selection as a board member of the Misr Insurance Company in 2013, followed by a non-executive board membership at the bank until 2018. He was later appointed Deputy Chairperson and Managing Director of the bank until January 2019.
The Suez Canal Bank’s extraordinary and ordinary general assembly, chaired by Hussein Rafaie, convened virtually yesterday to deliberate on bylaw amendments, review the 2023 business outcomes, and decide on profit distribution proposals.
Shareholders were afforded the convenience of electronic voting on the agenda items via a dedicated link provided in the general assembly invitation. The extraordinary general assembly witnessed a remarkable 92.99% electronic voting participation by eligible shareholders.
Key resolutions included the amendment of Article 6 in the bank’s bylaws, authorizing a capital increase to EGP 10bn, and entrusting the Board Chairperson and Managing Director with the implementation.
The ordinary general assembly echoed this participation rate, endorsing the Board of Directors’ report on the bank’s activities and financial standing for the year ending 31 December 2023. It also ratified the bank’s financial statements and balance sheet as of the same date, absolving board members of liability.
Furthermore, the assembly consented to the proposed dividend distribution for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2023 and sanctioned an increase in issued capital to EGP 6.5bn. This capital boost will be achieved through the issuance of bonus shares to shareholders at a ratio of 0.3 share per existing share, amounting to EGP 1.5bn, pending approval from the Central Bank of Egypt and relevant regulatory bodies.
