State-owned Banque Misr has carried out an ownership transfer transaction for fellow state-owned Banque du Caire in a deal valued at EGP 6.9 billion, the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) announced
The deal was executed through BLOCK TRADING transaction, through which Bank Misr purchased 1.125 billion shares of Banque du Caire, according to EGX.
Banque du Caire was planned to be listed as part of the Egyptian government’s initial public offering (IPO) programme, but the programme was postponed as a result of COVID-19.
In 2021, the government resumed the IPO prgramme by listing state-owned e-payment company ‘e-finance’ and plans to list army-affiliated companies before the end of 2022.
Net profits for Banque du Caire grew in 2021 by 15 percent – compared to 2020 – to post EGP 3.2 billion, while Bank Misr’s rose to EGP 21.4 billion in 2021, up from EGP 11 billion recorded by the end of June 2020.
Bank Misr’s total assets were valued at EGP 1.4 trillion by the end of September 2021, with total deposits of EGP 1.1 trillion.
Egyptian banks managed to weather the pandemic’s repercussions as they entered the crisis relatively well-capitalised with a low number of non-performing loans, according to the Banking Industry in Egypt 2021 report.
“The pandemic also helped fuel significant growth in digital banking in a country where only about a third of the population is banked. Experts say a new banking act, which was passed in 2020 and which increased capital requirements, could promote mergers and acquisitions, while helping to boost financial inclusion. While bank profits have been affected by the slowdown in private lending, experts are hopeful that lending will pick up again, driven by the current record low interest rates,” according to the report.
