Leading banks in Egypt 2022, by tier 1 capital

The National Bank of Egypt was the leading banking service provider in Egypt in terms of its tier 1 capital. In 2022, the bank's capital reached about 7.28 billion U.S. dollars. Banque Misr followed closely with capital worth almost 7.24 billion U.S. dollars. Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Arab African International Bank ranked third and fourth, with tier 1 capital of around 2.11 and 2.01 billion U.S dollars, respectively.

Assets and financial investment measurement

A closer look at Egypt’s leading banks’ portfolio reveals that Banque Misr has the largest profit margin out of the banks under review. It reported a profit of close to 1.49 billion U.S. dollars in late 2021. However, the National Bank of Egypt had the highest value in assets, with 167.41 billion U.S. dollars in June 2021. Interestingly, other financial measurements, such as return on equity, showed a different picture regarding leading banks. The highest return on equity shares are Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt at 33 percent and Crédit Agricole Egypt at 32 percent. ROE measures a company's profitability relative to shareholders' equity. A high ROE means higher profits per dollar of equity, and banks rely on equity to support lending. Therefore, a high ROE indicates higher profitability relative to capital invested, which institutions can use to absorb potential losses.

A slow but growing banking infrastructure

As of 2021, approximately 30 percent of adults in Egypt had a bank or financial institution account. Bank penetration in the country saw significant growth over the past decade but experienced a decrease between 2017 and 2021. Nevertheless, Egypt’s banking infrastructure has steeply increased. There were over 29 ATMs per 100,000 adults in Egypt in 2022. The country registered an annual increase in ATM penetration during the observed period, with the most significant growth occurring in 2021. Similarly, the number of commercial bank branches in Egypt increased annually between 2005 and 2021, dropping only in 2022, with the latter recording around 4,630 branches. Moreover, there was an increase of over 1,000 branches in 2019.