First Abu Dhabi Bank participated in the 7th CEOs Thoughts Conference in the presence of Hisham Tawfik, Minister of the Public Business Sector and Mohamed Farid, Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, and with the participation of the leaders of top-tier entities operating in different sectors which play an instrumental role in the Egyptian economy.
The conference aims at revealing the mechanisms for dealing with the world’s recession crisis and countries’ economies in the current period due to the Corona Pandemic since early 2020.
In a session entitled “The Role of the Central Bank’s Initiatives in Increasing the Capacity of the Egyptian Economy to Face the Global Inflation Crisis,” Mohamed Abbas Fayed, CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank in Egypt, praised the efforts of the Central Bank, saying: “The Central Bank succeeded in supporting the Egyptian economy and banking sectors, especially with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, through launching several monetary policies and appropriate initiatives that helped to overcome the negative repercussions of the pandemic, and also contributed to attracting many foreign investments to the Egyptian market.” “First Abu Dhabi Bank participated in a number of these initiatives, including the CBE’s financial inclusion initiative,” he added.
Regarding the bank’s participation in initiatives related to easing financial stress on citizens and companies, Fayed explained, “The bank has adjusted interest rates on loans and returns on certificates and deposits, while it waived withdrawal and inquiry fees from ATMs. As for the digital payment solutions initiatives, the bank is in process of increasing the number of its ATMs and enabled all the machines to accept ‘Meeza’ cards.”
Fayed also indicated that the Central Bank had supervised many mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector, adding that First Abu Dhabi Bank is working alongside the Central Bank to finalize the merger with Bank Audi – Egypt, in one of Egypt’s largest and most significant acquisitions.
This matter will contribute to strengthening the Egyptian investment opportunities, especially the ability of the Egyptian banks to attract investments, support the quality of banking services and products provided to banking customers in general, in addition to paying attention to the human element and the bank’s employees through ambitious training and development plans.
The Central Bank of Egypt seeks to motivate banks to expand digital banking services to achieve the government strategy towards digital transformation, spread the concept of financial inclusion, and encourage the use of financial technology, in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030.
In this context, Fayed said, “First Abu Dhabi Bank is working according to an ambitious plan, supported by FAB Group’s successful global experiences, to expand the rollout of many technological services and digital products, which will be announced in the upcoming period.”
It is worth noting that First Abu Dhabi Bank announced its acquisition of 100% of the capital of Bank Audi – Egypt by signing the final acquisition agreement in January 2021, and the merger is expected to be completed during 2022. The acquisition contributes to increasing the size and scope of the activity of First Abu Dhabi Bank in Egypt, making it one of the largest foreign banks operating in Egypt in terms of assets.
