The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has revealed that the total financial position of banks operating in the local market, other than itself, rose by EGP 1.166trn year-on-year (y-o-y).
This saw the financial position come in at about EGP 7.022trn by the end of December 2020, compared to about EGP 5.856trn in the previous year.
In its quarterly report on the financial indicators of banks, the CBE stated that on the assets side, cash balances in banks reached EGP 55.267bn by the end of December 2020.
Meanwhile, their balances in banks in Egypt stood at EGP 924.782bn, while their balances with banks abroad amounted to about EGP 304.873bn.
The CBE added that the balances of lending and debit to clients recorded about EGP 2.493trn, while the portfolio of securities and bank investments in Treasury bills (T-bills) recorded EGP 2.778trn.
At the level of liabilities, the CBE explained that banks’ capital was EGP 174.775bn by the end of December 2020, and reserves recorded EGP 325.761bn. At the same time, the balance of provisions amounted to about EGP 162.274bn.
The obligations of banks for each other in Egypt recorded about EGP 239.014bn, while their obligations for banks abroad recorded EGP 114.694bn. Total deposits amounted to about EGP 5.177trn, while bonds and long-term loans amounted to EGP 206.87bn.
The CBE revealed that the total financial position of the top 10 banks working in the local market reached EGP 5.509trn by the end of December 2020. Meanwhile, the total financial position of the top 5 banks reached about EGP 4.858trn.
At the top of the list of those banks are: the National Bank of Egypt (NBE); Banque Misr; Commercial International Bank (CIB); Banque du Caire; QNB AlAhli; the Arab African International Bank (AAIB); HSBC Egypt; Faisal Islamic Bank – Egypt; Alexbank; and Credit Agricole Egypt.
The CBE said that the net profits of banks operating in the Egyptian market recorded about EGP 58.906bn by the end of December 2020.
It also said that these profits were made during the period extending from 1 January to the end of December 2020 for banks whose fiscal year (FY) ends on 31 December of each year. It also covered the period from 1 July to the end of December 2020, for those banks whose FY ends on 30 June of each year.
At the top of the list of these banks are the NBE, Banque Misr, CIB, Banque du Caire, QNB AlAhli, Credit Agricole – Egypt, Faisal Islamic Bank – Egypt, and the Housing and Development Bank (HDB).
The increase in bank profits came with an increase in their net return to about EGP 161.872bn, while the revenues of banking activity rose to EGP 193.91bn, and bank expenses recorded about EGP 135.010bn.
According to the CBE, the top 10 banks in the Egyptian banking sector achieved net profits of about EGP 39.415bn by the end of December 2020, equal to about 66.9% of the total profits of banks as a whole.
The net activity revenues of the top 10 banks recorded about EGP 132.3bn, whilst the net revenue amounted to EGP 111.28bn, and the total expenses were about EGP 92.9bn. The top five banks account for about 47.18% of the total net profits of banks, which recorded EGP 27.793bn by the end of December 2020.
The net activity revenues of the five largest banks recorded about EGP 99.475bn, the net revenue amounted to EGP 83.182bbn, and the total expenses recorded about EGP 71.682bn.
The return on average assets in banks was 1.8% at the end of December 2020, compared to 1.4% in the same month of the previous year. The return on average equity stood at 23.4% in December 2020, compared to 19.2% in the previous year, while the net margin of return reached 4.1%, compared to 3%.
The return on average assets in the top 10 banks was 1.7% y-o-y, compared to 1.3% at the end of December 2019. The return on average equity was 23.5%, compared to 18.4%, while the net margin of return reached 4%, compared to 2.7%.
Return on average assets at the 5 largest banks was 1.5% at the end of December 2020, compared to 1.1% at the end of December 2019. The return on average equity was 21.6%, compared to 16.3%, while the net margin of return reached 3.8%, compared to 2.3%.
