In March 2024, the bank’s net foreign currency balance increased to 5.7% of its total capital.
of Central Bank of Egypt The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) recently revealed that the total financial position of banks operating in the local market (excluding the CBE) reached 17.896 trillion Egyptian pounds ($373.1 billion) as of March 2024, up from 14.2 trillion Egyptian pounds ($296.01 billion) in December 2023.
Net foreign currency balances in Egyptian banks reached 5.7% of total capital in March 2024, up from -1.6% in December. The ratio reached 6.8% for the top 10 banks and 7.9% for the top five banks. The Central Bank also stressed that the combined foreign currency surplus or deficit must not exceed 20% of capital.
Bank balances and liabilities
In terms of assets, the central bank revealed that Egyptian banks’ cash balance reached EGP 175,964 million, while interbank balances reached EGP 3,181 billion. In addition, banks’ balances with foreign banks reached EGP 1,042 billion.
The overall portfolio of investments in securities and government bonds in Egyptian banks reached EGP 5.49 trillion, while other undesignated assets totaled EGP 1.189 trillion.
In terms of liabilities, the Central Bank revealed that banks’ capital reached nearly EGP 449.61 billion, while reserves reached EGP 793.803 billion and provisions reached EGP 448.678 billion.
Egyptian banks’ domestic interbank debt reached EGP 1,543 billion, while foreign interbank debt reached EGP 565.69 billion, while total deposits reached EGP 11,425 billion and total long-term bonds and loans reached EGP 842.29 billion.
Bad debts
The Central Bank of Egypt also revealed that banks’ non-performing loan ratios fell to 2.6% in March 2024 from 3% in December 2023. The data also revealed that non-performing loans accounted for 2.2% of total loans at Egypt’s 10 largest banks, and 2% at the top five banks.
Banks recorded provisions equivalent to 86.3% of their total non-performing loans in March 2024, up from 88.7% in December 2023. Provision coverage rates reached 90.8% for the country’s 10 largest banks and 90.3% for the top five banks.
Additionally, Egyptian banks have accumulated reserves of 793.803 billion Egyptian pounds, of which the 10 largest banks hold 644 billion Egyptian pounds and the top five banks hold 559.2 billion Egyptian pounds.
The central bank also revealed that the private sector’s share of total loans granted by banks to customers in March 2024 fell by 46.2 percent from 51.9 percent in December 2023.
Increase in loan-to-deposit ratio
The Central Bank of Egypt reported that banks’ loan-to-deposit ratio rose to 59.9% in March 2024, up from 54% in December 2023. The ratio reached 59.7% for Egypt’s 10 largest banks and 62.3% for the top five banks.
Notably, total customer deposits increased from EGP 10,137 billion in December 2023 to EGP 11,425 billion in March 2024. The deposit-to-asset ratio reached 63.9% in March 2024, from 71.5% in December 2023.
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Decreasing capital base
The central bank also reported that banks’ real average local currency liquidity ratio will rise to 37.9% in March 2024 from 36.8% in December 2023.
Furthermore, banks’ investments in securities and government bonds increased by 293 billion Egyptian pounds in March 2024, reaching approximately 5.49 trillion Egyptian pounds.
Egyptian banks’ capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio fell to 18.1% in March 2024 from 18.6% in December 2023. Meanwhile, Egyptian banks’ leverage ratio rose to 7.3% in March from 6.9% in December.
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