Egypt
Banking sector profile — Middle East & North Africa
Data as of October 2026 • TGB Intelligence Unit
Policy rate as of 7 October 2026: 19.00% (source: Central Bank of Egypt)
Banking sector at a glance
Structure and performance
Egypt's banking sector comprises 37 banks registered with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), spanning state-owned, private, Islamic and foreign-owned institutions. Total assets, excluding the CBE, reached EGP27.66tn at end-June 2026, about US$562bn. The system is highly concentrated: the five largest banks held EGP19.36tn, or 70% of assets, led by the state-owned National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr. Commercial International Bank (CIB) is the largest private-sector bank, with FY2025 assets of US$30.3bn, and Gulf groups including QNB, Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank operate local subsidiaries.
Balance sheets are heavily oriented towards the sovereign. Securities and treasury-bill investments were EGP8.14tn, or 29% of assets, in June 2026, compared with customer loans of EGP11.65tn (42%); loans to the private sector made up 41.7% of customer loans. Deposits of EGP17.11tn fund most of the balance sheet, and the loan-to-deposit ratio rose to 68.9% from 61.9% at end-2024 as lending picked up. Local-currency liquidity is abundant, with a liquidity coverage ratio of 574.5% and a local-currency liquidity ratio of 38.7% against a 20% minimum.
Solvency and profitability are strong. The capital adequacy ratio was 19.4% in June 2026, with a CET1 ratio of 14.7% and a leverage ratio of 7.8%. Non-performing loans were 1.8% of loans, with provisions covering 87.6%. High policy rates have lifted earnings: return on average equity was 33.9% and the net interest margin 5.2% in 2025, and aggregate net profit reached EGP373.1bn in the first half of 2026. The sector's net open foreign-currency position is capped at 20% of capital.
Macroeconomic risks dominate. Annual inflation eased to 14.5% in August 2026, but the regional conflict slowed growth to 4.7% in the second quarter and weighed on the pound, which weakened from EGP47.87 to EGP54.54 per dollar between end-February and end-March 2026 before recovering to about EGP51.8 in late September. The CBE cut rates by 100bp in February and has since held them. Other risks include sovereign concentration, foreign-currency liquidity and compliance exposure, underlined by the US Treasury's August 2026 proposal to cut Banque Misr UAE off from US correspondent banking.
Structural trends
The shifts shaping banking in Egypt.
Concentration: the five largest banks held EGP19.36tn, or 70% of sector assets, at end-June 2026.
Rising intermediation: the sector loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 68.9% in June 2026 from 61.9% at end-2024.
Capital strengthening: the capital adequacy ratio rose to 19.4% in June 2026 from 18.3% at end-2024, and the CET1 ratio to 14.7% from 12.5%.
Sovereign exposure: securities and treasury-bill holdings were EGP8.14tn in June 2026, 29% of banking-sector assets.
Leading institutions
Largest banks in Egypt by total assets.
| # | Bank | Total assets (US$) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banque Misr | US$102.0bn | State-owned |
| 2 | Commercial International Bank (Egypt) | US$30.3bn | Commercial |
| 3 | Arab African International Bank | US$20.1bn | Commercial |
| 4 | FAB MisrSubsidiary of First Abu Dhabi Bank | US$10.2bn | Commercial |
| 5 | HSBC Bank EgyptSubsidiary of HSBC | US$7.4bn | Commercial |
| 6 | ADIB EgyptSubsidiary of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank | US$7.3bn | Islamic |
| 7 | AlexbankSubsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo | US$5.1bn | Commercial |
Largest banks in Egypt by total assets, FY2025 audited accounts. Domestic groups as in the TGB Bank Rankings; subsidiaries of foreign groups shown with their own accounts and marked. Not a ranking table. Not included: National Bank of Egypt (no audited FY2025 accounts published) and QNB Egypt, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt and Housing and Development Bank (audited FY2025 accounts not accessible for verification). Converted at official central-bank rates for each fiscal year-end.
Supervision and capital rules
The CBE licenses and supervises banks, while non-bank financial services fall under the Financial Regulatory Authority. Basel III standards are in force: Tier 1 capital including the conservation buffer must be at least 8.5% of risk-weighted assets and CET1 at least 7%, the leverage ratio at least 3%, and the LCR and NSFR at least 100% for all currencies combined and for local and foreign currency separately. Minimum liquidity ratios are 20% in local currency and 25% in foreign currency, and net open foreign-exchange positions are capped at 20% of the capital base. The CBE targets inflation of 7% (±2pp). In 2026 it cut policy rates in February and, with the UAE central bank, responded to FinCEN's proposed Section 311 measure against Banque Misr's UAE branches.
What changed in 2026
- January 2026: Onebank S.A.E. was registered with the CBE on 27 January, becoming the newest licensed bank.
- February 2026: the CBE cut its key policy rates by 100bp, taking the overnight deposit rate to 19.00% from 15 February.
- August 2026: FinCEN proposed a Section 311 rule on 28 August to revoke Banque Misr UAE's access to US correspondent banking; the CBE and the UAE central bank issued a joint statement on 30 August.
- September 2026: the CBE kept rates unchanged on 24 September as headline inflation eased to 14.5% in August, projecting convergence to its 7% (±2pp) target during the second half of 2027.
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