LESS than a week after the announcement of the resignation of Central Bank Governor Farouk Al-Okda, the local banking sector will bid farewell to another veteran: Tarek Amer, head of the National Bank of Egypt, the country's largest public bank. On Monday, Amer sent an e-mail to his colleagues in the bank saying he will step down “to give the chance to new faces to take over the bank's management during the coming period.” Amer who said last March he was planning to resign by the end of 2012 was quoted by the state-run news agency MENA as saying, “Eight years in the public banking field is enough.” Amer headed the NBE for five years in which the bank's results significantly improved to reach the unprecedented figure of LE2.01 billion in 2010/2011. The results of the following year have not yet been published. Amer's resignation comes two years before his current tenure ends. Before joining the NBE Amer worked as deputy to the Central Bank governor for three years. Until Al-Ahram Weekly went to press, it was not clear if the resignation was approved by the Central Bank governor. In February 2011, Al-Okda refused a letter of resignation that Amer had submitted in the wake of protests in the bank, amid accusations of Amer's preferential treatment of aides and profiteering from his ties with Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, sons of the ousted president. Amer's resignation is the second among top banking sector executives since Al-Okda said he was leaving. Lobna Hilal, deputy central governor, resigned last week. Observers say such moves are expected as the new governor usually recruits a new team. Amer also held senior positions at Banque Misr, CitiBank and the Egyptian American Bank. He also chairs the Federation of Egyptian Banks and was a top nominee for president of the Union of Arab Banks. While there are reports that Amer might move to a leading British bank, nothing is confirmed. It is also not clear who will be Amer's successor.
