The Newsletter for Wednesday, February 15th

The Central Bank of Egypt announced a decrease in total external debt by about $728.5 mn, to record $154.98 bn at the end of September 2022, compared to about $155.71 bn at the end of June 2022. The total long-term external debt decreased to record $127.57 bn at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022/23, compared to about $129.09 bn at the end of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2021/2022.

The Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) said that the percentage of non-performing loans of the total loan portfolio decrease to 4.86% by the end of 2022, compared to 5.12% by the end of 2021. The bank clarified that provisions for loan losses reached EGP 1.58 bn during the year 2022, which was accompanied by an unprecedented increase in the total balance of provisions for loan losses to EGP 24.55 bn.

The board of directors of saib has prepared the budget and financial statements for the year ending in December 2022, as well as the approval of the proposal for the distribution of profits, subject to the approval of the Central Bank and the ordinary general assembly of the bank. The bank stated that net profits after taxes increased by 51%, to record $30.155 mn at the end of December 2022, compared to $19.933 mn at the end of December 2021, while profits before taxes amounted to $48.396 mn.

Dalia Abdel Kader, Head of the Sustainable Finance Sector at the Commercial International Bank Egypt, said that the success of political negotiations by governments during COP27 represented an added value for Egypt to reach an agreement on a "loss and damage financing fund" after several attempts that lasted around 30 years. She added that CIB Bank's experience demonstrated the ability of financial institutions in climate action, stressing that they continue to finance green projects such as clean energy projects, water desalination and other projects that aim to sustain sectors.