According to Moody’s, the Egyptian banking system is stable, due to the country’s improving economy. The rating agency expects domestic economic growth to pick up and loan performance to remain broadly resilient
National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is the oldest commercial bank in Egypt. It was incorporated in 1898 with a capital of £ 1 million, it also one of the biggest banking institutions in Africa.
The Banker, a sister publication of the Financial Times, has named the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) among the top 10 banks in Africa in its annual ranking of the Top 1000 World Banks during 2020. Furthermore, NBE landed in the fifth top spot in the Africa ranking.
Globally, NBE is ranked #237, while Banque Misr is ranked #366, and Commercial International Bank is raised 179 spots to #369 according to The Banker.
Syndicated loan leadership
NBE was rated as the country’s top bank for syndicated loans for 1Q2020, having arranged 15.4 billion Egyptian pounds worth of syndicated loans, according to a Bloomberg evaluation.
The NBE gained this rank through its work as a financing agent and as a main bookrunner and marketer during the first quarter (1Q) of 2020.
Bloomberg noted that the bank executed six financing deals, worth a total value of 15.4 billion pounds during that period.
The NBE also won third place in Africa and the Middle East for its joint loans work, in which the bank played the role of financing agent. It managed four deals worth 14 billion pounds, taking a market share of 19.82 percent of the total syndicated loans in Africa.
The bank also ranked third in Africa for syndicated loans in which it acted as bookrunner, and fourth for loans in which the bank was a promoter.
Unprecedented performance indicators
NBE has reported a net income after tax of 20.2 billion pounds in the last fiscal year (FY) ending in June 2019. The NBE’s latest figures mark a 100% growth rate on the 10.1 billion pounds figures reported for FY 2017/18, indicators that reflected the distinguished results of the bank’s work.
Furthermore, the bank’s financial position increased to 1.6 trillion pounds in June 2019, compared to 1.5 trillion pounds in June 2018.
However, the bank shareholders’ equity amounted to about 110 billion pounds in 2019, compared to 92.2 billion pounds in the year before which is supporting the solvency of one of the largest banks in Egypt.
Awards and accreditations
The NBE had received 15 international awards, including 14 from Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) Finance, as the best bank in the field of syndicated loans, financial advisory, restructuring and securitisation in Africa in 2018.
The bank winning such awards is mainly due to the efficiency of the employees in the bank’s sectors concerned with these loans.
Crowning its efforts, NBE topped the Egyptian banks as the largest banking brand in 2019 for the second year in a row according to the annual report on the world’s most valuable brands “Global 500” issued in 2019 by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy, in cooperation with The Banker.
NBE succeeded to be the first bank in Egypt to receive the PCI DSS Certification, V3.2.1 for the seventh year in a row, a certificate of compliance with security standards issued by Visa and MasterCard for payment and credit card data security. Furthermore, NBE received the ISO 22301-2012 Certification in Business Continuity Management for the second straight year from the British Standards Institution (BSI).
In addition, NBE received many awards from “emeafinance” as the Best Bank in Africa in the field of syndicated loans and financial advisory with high professionalism. NBE was also recognized as the Best Bank in Africa in terms of social responsibility for 2019.
NBE was also recognized by The Asian Banker as the Best Retail Bank in Egypt for 2019, as well as the Best Bank in Africa and Middle East in terms of “agents incoming electronic wire transfers”.
NBE was named by Global Brands magazine as the Best Commercial Bank and the Best Retail Bank in North Africa in 2019.
Global Business Outlook granted NBE two new awards as the Best Digital Bank and the Best Retail Bank in Egypt for 2019.
Global Finance announced NBE as the Safest Bank in Egypt for 2019, through a review of the banking sector in 110 countries worldwide in accordance with long-term performance indicators.
Local and regional presence
NBE has an extensive network of 510 branches, offices and banking units nationwide (serving nearly 14 MM customers).
Additionally, the Bank maintains an effective international presence through National Bank of Egypt (UK) Limited, National Bank of Egypt (Khartoum) – Sudan, New York and Shanghai branches (in USA and China), and representative offices in Johannesburg – South Africa, Dubai – UAE and Addis Ababa – Ethiopia, plus NBE (DIFC) Limited for financial advice. This is in addition to a vast correspondent network around the globe (Europe – USA – Australia – Canada – the Far East – Africa – the Arabian Gulf).
